T.C. Price's corner three with 1:11 left gave UR a lead it'd never relinquish as the University of Rochester men's basketball held on late to defeat Carnegie Mellon University, 76-73, on Sunday afternoon inside the Louis Alexander Palestra.
After assisting on Matt Wiele's bucket a possession earlier, Price knocked down a left-corner triple to put the Yellowjackets up 73-70, and Wiele and Matt Niemczura hit their free throws down the stretch to help seal Rochester's victory.
R.J. Holmes got the scoring started early on for Carnegie Mellon, scoring the Tartans' first four points. Both team's struggled to get things going offensively early on, combining for just 11 points over the first seven minutes.
Following a nearly two-and-a-half-minute scoreless stretch to open the first half, Mitchell Kershner got UR on the scoreboard with a hoop and the foul, knocking down the free throw to cut CMU's early lead down to one, 4-3, with 17:36 to play in the first.
Holmes added two more on a pair of free throws, giving the Tartans a 6-3 lead they held for nearly four minutes until Rochester's offense got going just shy of the 13-minute mark.
Niemczura scored a layup to pull UR within one, before Ross Gang gave the Yellowjackets their first lead of the afternoon off Ryan Algier's steal, scoring a fastbreak bucket to make it 7-6 Rochester.
Gang and Niemczura's buckets would kick off a 15-0 run for the 'Jacket, as they held CMU scoreless for nearly four minutes to take an 18-6 lead.
Algier, playing in his first game since Dec. 7, scored his first two points of the afternoon off Gang's assist, extending UR's lead to 9-6, while C.J. Amsellem sank a triple to make it a 14-6 ballgame.
Holmes, who scored Carnegie Mellon's first eight points, slowed UR's run with a bucket with nine minutes to play in the first, but Algier and Gang came back with two more scores to make it a 22-8 Rochester lead.
With a 9-2 run of their own though, the Tartans stormed right back out of a timeout, with Justin Allen connecting on a pair of layups to cut the 'Jackets' lead down to seven, 24-17, with 3:50 left in the first.
Gang then picked up a steal and went 2-for-2 at the free throw line to bring UR's lead back out to nine, and added two more free throws down the stretch to make it a double-digit advantage.
Kevin Sax would cut the deficit back down to nine heading into the final minute, but another Gang bucket, this time a floater off Price's assist, sent the Yellowjackets into halftime with a 33-22 lead.
Holmes again got the scoring started in the second half, as CMU came out of the locker room with a fury, outscoring Rochester, 10-3, over the first 3:20 of the second half to cut into UR's lead.
Aidan Booher's three made it a four-point game with 16:40 to play, but a Logan Jagodzinski pull-up brought Rochester's lead back out to six
The Yellowjackets answered with a 9-4 run of their own, bringing their lead back out to nine, 47-38, on Niemczura's layup with 13:43 left.
But again, Carnegie Mellon came up with another run, finding their touch from beyond the arc to knock down three three-pointers over four offensive possessions to take their first lead since early on in the first half.
Nick Nakasian scored five-straight to pull CMU within four, before Jack Stone knocked down a three to make it a one-point game. Amsellem answered with a triple of his own on the other end, but Nakasian's layup and Sean Oberman's three gave the Tartans a 51-50 advantage with just under 11 minutes left.
Rochester took a timeout to regroup and on the ensuing possession, Andrew Jackson scored on a tough drive to retake the lead. And while Buckley DeJardin's three again put CMU up two on the other end, Amsellem again answered, giving UR a one-point lead.
This time though, CMU would take the lead and get a stop, using a 6-0 run to take their largest lead of the afternoon, 60-55, heading into the final eight minutes.
Again though, Rochester had an answer, with Gang and Niemczura combining for the next nine points, while UR's defense held the Tartans without a bucket over 3:41.
Off an offensive rebound, Niemczura scored a put-back layup to bring UR back within a possession, and Gang scored an and-one to even the score at 60-all.
Gang then scored four more over the next 2:12, tallying seven of Rochester's nine points over the 9-0 run to take a 64-60 lead with 4:23 to play.
Stone brought CMU back within a bucket before Gang scored another to make it a four-point game.
Holmes was fouled and went 2-for-2 at the charity stripe to again pull Carnegie Mellon within two, but again, Kershner's floater put UR back up four with 3:08 left.
On the ensuing possession, a foul gave Kevin Sax a pair of free throws, and after a missed three-pointer, Nakasian tied the game at 78-all, sending the two sides all even headed into the final two minutes.
Rochester retook the lead on Wiele's layup, going up 70-68 with 1:38 left, but Nakasian came right back to tie the score at 70 after a Rochester timeout.
The Yellowjackets then set up Price in the corner, who nailed the three, and a huge steal by Algier forced CMU to foul with under a minute left.
Wiele went 1-for-2 at the line to make it a two-possession game, but Holmes drew a foul and scored to pull Carnegie Mellon back within one.
The Tartans fouled Niemczura, who sank both free throws, setting up Carnegie Mellon with the ball down three with 16 seconds left. Holmes eventually got a shot off but it fell short, giving Rochester the 76-73 victory.
Rochester moves to 12-2 (2-1 UAA) with the win, wrapping up the weekend with a pair of conference wins, while Carnegie Mellon falls to 9-5 (1-2 UAA) on the year.
Gang led the Yellowjackets with 23 points, adding six rebounds, a team-high six assists, five steals and a block. Wiele joined Gang scoring in double figures with 12 points, adding a team-high eight rebounds.
For the Tartans, Holmes led the way with 18 points, adding a game-high 10 boards.
As a team, Rochester shot 53.8 percent from the floor, 38.9 percent (7-for-18) from three, and 76.5 percent (13-for-17) from the free throw line, and outrebounded the Tartans, 31-26.
Rochester next hits the road for a pair of University Athletic Association (UAA) contests, traveling to Waltham, MA to face Brandeis on Friday, Jan. 20 at 5:30 p.m., before wrapping up the weekend in New York City against NYU on Sunday, Jan. 22 at 12 p.m.