CLEVELAND, OH – A big second half comeback by the University of Rochester men's basketball team fell just short in overtime, as Case Western Reserve University earned a 90-87 win in University Athletic Association play on Friday evening at CWRU's Horsburgh Gymnasium.
Rochester (14-7, 4-6 UAA) battled back from as many as 21 points down in the first half, and from 16 points down with under ten minutes to play, but a Ryan Algier 3-point heave clanged off the backboard and rim as time expired in the extra session, sending the Yellowjackets to their third straight loss.
Case Western Reserve (17-3, 7-3 UAA) remains just one game back in the UAA standings with the win, avenging an earlier season loss at Rochester, where UR won 85-69 in the Palestra back in January.
The Yellowjackets were led by five players in double-figure scoring, with junior Matt Wiele finishing with 20 points. Dan Masino added 15 points off the bench, while both Algier and Logan Jagodzinski finished with double-doubles, at 13 points and 10 rebounds each. Jagodzinski's point and rebound totals are a career-high, as the sophomore made his first career start.
Senior Ross Gang stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks and 3 steals.
CWRU was led by senior Josh Levy who scored 22 points in just 16 minutes, with 18 coming in the opening half. Mitch Prendergast had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Danny Frauenheim also recorded a double-double, scoring 11 points while handing out 10 assists. Cole Frilling and Sam Trunley added 13 and 12 points, respectively.
The Spartans got off to a red-hot start in this one, seemingly energized from the senior day ceremony which took place prior to the game. CWRU led 23-3 after five and a half minutes, and made nine of its first 13 shots (69%), including five of six from 3-point range. Levy had 12 in the opening flourish.
After Rochester steadied the ship a little bit, Umar Rashin and Trunley hit back-to-back treys to keep the Spartans on fire from long range, helping the hosts to the biggest lead of the game at 32-11 as the teams approached the midway point of the half.
An Algier 3-pointer ignited a 17-3 Rochester run which trimmed the lead to seven at 35-28 with 5:20 left in the period. CWRU finally cooled off, making just 1-of-10 shots in the 5-plus minute spurt.
Prendergast hit a layup just before the halftime horn and the Spartans headed to intermission up by 16, leading 51-35.
The Case lead remained double-digits for most of the second half, with Rashid and Trunley again hitting back-to-back treys to start a 9-2 Spartan run, making the lead 16 once again with just 9:30 left in regulation.
Rochester was efficient the rest of the way, outscoring the Spartans 24-8 to forcing overtime. UR was 10-for-14 from the floor over that span, with Jagodzinski and Masino combining for 13 points in the late game run.
The Yellowjacket defense also ramped up, forcing seven turnovers and held CWRU to 3-for-12 shooting. After making 12 3-pointers in the first half, the Spartans were just 2-for-12 from distance in the second.
CWRU was up five with 1:43 on the clock following two Frilling free throws, and the play was ruled a flagrant foul, allowing the Spartans to keep possession.
After a Case miss and offensive rebound, Wiele got a steal and was fouled, making 1-of-2, cutting the lead to four with a minute on the clock.
Rochester's press was broken, but the Spartans missed an open layup inside, with Gang securing the rebound. He found Jagodzinski on the offensive end for a layup inside, making the score 82-80 CWRU.
UR called timeout and again pressed, this time forcing a turnover in the backcourt. Gang had an open look from 3-point range for the lead, but his shot rimmed out. Jagodzinski was on the ball though, getting the tap-in rebound to tie the game with 23 seconds left.
The Yellowjackets had a foul to give and smartly used it well away from the basket after 18 seconds ran off the clock, setting up the Spartans for a last-second play with just five ticks left in regulation.
That shot by Prendergast was off the mark, with Jagodzinski securing the rebound, sending the game into OT.
During the extra session, Prendergast got two early free throws to give the Spartans the lead. After Wiele had a steal and slam for Rochester to tie it, the CWRU grad student quickly regained the lead for the home team, sinking a long two with 3:35 left.
Luke Thorburn hit another jumper with 91 seconds remaining to boost the lead to four.
Ian Elam blocked Masino inside on the next possession and despite getting the offensive rebound, UR couldn't make that possession count.
Thankfully, the Yellowjackets got a defensive stop, with Masino forcing a Frilling fade away miss and regained the ball with under a minute to play.
A pick inside set up Matt Niemczura for a banked in 3-pointer from the top of the key, as the senior scored his biggest points of the night with just 29 seconds to play.
With the shot clock off, Rochester was forced to foul Daniel Florey with 18 seconds remaining. The CWRU forward missed the opening shot of the 1-and-1 opportunity an Rochester had possession with a chance to win.
The Yellowjackets unfortunately got trapped in close to the basket with time winding down and tried to call a timeout. UR did not have any timeouts remaining and were assessed a technical foul, giving the Spartans two free throws at the other end.
Frilling made both shots to put the hosts up by three, and Algier's last second shot missed, ending what proved to be a thrilling conference battle.
Rochester looks to rebound with another tough road matchup on Sunday, playing at Carnegie Mellon University at noon.