Behind a huge run to close the first half and open the second, No. 9 University of Rochester men's basketball picked up its first conference win, defeating the 7th-ranked Case Western Reserve University Spartans, 85-69, on Friday evening inside a packed Louis Alexander Palestra.

In a matchup of two Top-10 conference foes, CWRU's Ian Elam got the scoring started with a pair of free throws with 19:22 to play in the first. Matt Wiele then broke the seal for UR, scoring Rochester's first bucket off Dan Masino's assist to even the score at 2-all.

Cole Frilling's layup and Danny Frauenheim three, with another Wiele bucket, sandwiched in-between, gave the Spartans a 7-4 lead before UR used an 11-0 run to take their first lead of the night.

Down three, Masino scored a driving layup to cut CWRU's lead to one, and then after a turnover and defensive stop, Wiele gave UR its first leadoff the night, scoring his first of two layups off T.C. Price assists to give the Yellowjackets a 10-7 lead.

Matt Niemczura then made it 12-7 with a jumper and capped off the 11-0 run with a corner three, extending the 'Jackets' lead to 15-7 with 13:20 left to play in the first.

Case Western Reserve came right back though, holding UR without a bucket over the next 2:21 to pull within two, 15-13, on a pair of Frilling free throws, before five-straight from Frauenheim made it a one-point game with 8:20 left in the first.

Andrew Jackson answered with a layup from Niemczura, but the Spartans kept on battling, with Umar Rashid's layup again making it a one-point game, 23-22, and Daniel Foley's three-pointer evening the score at 25-all.

Two more Frilling free throws gave CWRU its second lead of the night, while Frauenheim gave CWRU a two-possession lead, 29-25, with 4:46 left in the first.

Logan Jagodzinski brought UR back with two with a pair of free throws, but Elam answered with a score off Frauenheim's assist on the other end, once again giving CWRU a four-point lead.

That would be the Spartans' last lead of the night though, as UR would hold CWRU to just one point over the next 5:55 of play, outscoring the Spartans, 21-1 over the final four minutes of the first half and two minutes of the second to take a double-digit lead.

Masino connected on a three-pointer from the top of the key to make it a one-point game, and after a missed jumper from Frauenheim, the Yellowjackets took a 32-31 lead on Wiele's layup with 3:27 remaining in the first half.

A Spartan turnover then led to a Mitchell Kershner triple, and then Price scored a runner to make it a six-point UR lead and force the Spartans to take a timeout.

But up by six with 2:27 to play, Rochester kept on rolling, as Wiele knocked down a three with just under two minutes left in the first half to make it a nine-point advantage.

Frauenheim then went 1-for-2 at the line, but CWRU was unable to slow UR's run, as Ross Gang's layup with 29 seconds left sent the 'Jackets into halftime with a 10-point, 42-32 advantage.

And after a missed three from Mitch Prendergast to start the second half, Rochester kept on rolling, scoring the first six points out of the halftime break, to take a 48-32 lead on Wiele's emphatic dunk 1:28 into the second period.

CWRU cut into Rochester's lead, making it a 12-point game on Prendergast's three, but with another run, this time a 9-2 run over 1:32 of play, UR took a 19-point, 59-40, lead just under four minutes into the second half.

Rochester led by as many as 24 in the second half, opening a 75-51 lead on two Kershner free throws with 8:37 to play before CWRU made a bit of a run.

Down 24, the Spartans scored eight straight to pull within 14, but Masino answered Frilling's triple with one of his own, preventing Case Western Reserve from coming any closer.

Elam's and-one again made it a 14-point game, but again, Rochester responded as Wiele added to a new career-high with a pair of free throws, and after a pair of CWRU misses, Niemczura went 1-for-2 at the line to extend UR's lead back out to 17, 82-65 with 3:04 left to play.

Just over a minute later, Rashid's dunk made it a 15-point game, but it'd be too little, too late for the Spartans, as Wiele's 26th point of the night and Gang's free throw finished off the 85-69 victory.

#9 Rochester moves to 11-2 (1-1 UAA) with the win, while the 7th-ranked Spartans drop their first contest of the year, falling to 11-1 (1-1 UAA) on the season.

Wiele led UR with a career-high 26 points, adding nine rebounds, six assists, four steals and two blocks. The junior shot 10-for-12 from the field and 5-for-5 from the free throw line, tying his career-highs in rebounds and assists, and setting a new career-high with his 26 points and 10 made field goals.

Gang, Kershner and Niemczura joined Wiele in double figures with 13, 11 and 10 points apiece, while Gang tied Wiele for a team-high nine boards. Gang also tallied seven assists, falling a rebound and three assists shy of a triple-double.

On the opposite end, Frauenheim led No. 7 CWRU with 21 points.

As a team, the Yellowjackets shot 54.2 percent from the field and knocked down six threes, while holding CWRU to just 39.4 percent shooting, and 22.7 from beyond the arc. UR also outrebounded the Spartans, 37-33, and outscored Case Western Reserve, 16-4, on the fastbreak.

The 'Jackets will wrap up the weekend on Sunday, Jan. 15 against Carnegie Mellon at 12 p.m. inside the Palestra.