Ross Gang became the 33rd Yellowjacket to reach 1,000 career points with his two free throws with 3:49 to play in the first half, but the University of Rochester men's basketball fell to the Emory University Eagles, 86-76 in their regular season finale inside the Louis Alexander Palestra.
After Emory scored the first four points of the game, UR senior Eric Cannon got the Yellowjackets on the scoreboard, knocking down a corner three with 19:06 to play in the first.
And though the Eagles led for much of the early going, the 'Jackets kept things close, pulling within two, 10-8, on Dan Masino's corner three with 16:54 to play in the first, before Matt Wiele went 1-for-2 at the line to make it a one-point game.
A Cale Martens made-free throw and Max Fried's driving layup put the Eagles back up by four, but Matt Niemczura leveled the score at 13-all with his four-point play, knocking down the three-pointer and free throw with 12:03 left in the first.
Ryan Algier then sank a layup, and Gang a hook shot, giving Rochester a four-point lead of its own, 17-13 with 11:00 minutes until halftime.
The 'Jackets and Eagles would go back and forth, with Niemczura answering Logan Shanahan's three-pointer with one of his own before four-straight from the Eagles again evened the score at 22-all.
Layups from Logan Jagodzinski and Masino kept the 'Jackets out front, with neither team able to build much of an advantage down the stretch in the first half.
With Emory up one, Gang hit a pair of free throws to score his 999 and 1,000th career points, as the final four minutes of the first half saw two ties and four lead changes.
With the score even at 34, Masino knocked down another three, putting UR up three with 1:56 left in the first half, and Gang answered Martens' layup with one of his own just outside the final minute, sending the 'Jackets into the locker room with a three-point, 39-36 lead.
Gang started the second half just like he ended the first, with a layup, this time from T.C. Price, as the 'Jackets built their largest lead of the afternoon, going up five on Jagodzinski's layup just over three minutes into the second half.
However, Emory would quickly tie things up on the next two possessions, and after three UR free throws, the Eagles went on an 11-0 run, shooting 7-for-8 from the line while holding the 'Jackets to 0-for-9 from the field over the five-minute stretch to take a 56-48 lead with 10:39 to play.
Three free throws from Wiele brought UR back within five, but another Emory run, this time an 8-3 run over 1:31, made it 10-point Eagle lead following Mason Johnson's triple with 7:50 remaining.
The Eagles led by as many as 12 over the next three-plus minutes, before Rochester made one last run. Down 12 following Martens' three, the 'Jackets got rolling on Wiele's three-point play and scored the next eight points, pulling within four, 74-70, on Algier's layup with 2:32 left.
However, Benjamin Pearce came through for the Eagles with the dagger, knocking down Emory's eighth made three of the afternoon on the ensuing possession to put Emory back up by seven.
And though Niemczura and Gang each hit three-pointers down the stretch, Emory went 7-for-8 at the free-throw line over the final two minutes to ice the 86-76 victory.
Gang led five 'Jackets in double figures with 18 points, adding eight rebounds and two assists. Wiele added 15 points, shooting 9-for-11 from the free-throw line, Algier and Masino each scored 12 and Niemczura added 10, while Algier added 11 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the year.
As a team, UR shot 33.3 percent from the field, 31.8 percent (7-for-22) from three and 21-for-31 from the free throw line, the 'Jackets' second-worst shooting performance of the year, while the Eagles shot 50.0 percent from the field, 66.7 percent (8-for-12) from three and 26-for-35 from the line.
With the loss, Rochester wraps up the regular season at 16-9 (6-8 UAA) while Emory stands at 17-8 (8-6 UAA). The Yellowjackets now await a potential postseason berth, with the 2023 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament Selection Show scheduled for Monday, Feb. 27 at 1:00 p.m.