HENRIETTA, NY- With three players hitting over four 3-pointers, the University of Rochester was able to shoot their way to 3rd place in the Wendy's Classic after defeating The College at Brockport 83-70 Saturday night at RIT.
All-American guard John DiBartolomeo scored 28 points on 7 of 12 shooting (5-9 3-pointers) while grabbing five rebounds to lead the Yellowjackets. As a team, UR shot 50% from behind the arc (13-26).
After a pedestrian first seven minutes of the game which saw no team grasp control, the Yellowjackets (6-2) grabbed their first lead of the game at 12-11 after a Rob Reid three-point play under the basket.
Rochester was able to jump out to an 11 point lead after two threes by junior John DiBartolomeo and one by freshman Tyler Seidman.
Brockport (1-5) then took a timeout and scored two quick baskets to shrink the lead to seven with six minutes to go in the half. A Gerald Williams 3-pointer then cut the lead to just four in favor of UR.
Seidman hit another three to grab momentum back from the Golden Flyers mini-run that ended an 11-2 run. The freshman guard had a great first half scoring 13 points and draining three 3-pointers. DiBartolomeo also chipped in three 3's and ended with 11 points after 20 minutes of play.
At the intermission, Rochester held a 42-37 lead. Team leaders for Brockport in the first session were Williams with 12 points and Donnell Jackson with 11 points and three boards.
A Chris Dende wide open three allowed UR to regain a nine point lead six minutes into the second half. The senior drained three long balls to boost UR in the early portions of the half.
Brockport's John Ivey kept the Golden Eagles within striking distance with his up-tempo play, constantly slashing to the basket and generating scoring opportunities. A lucky bounce off a missed free-throw led to another Williams 3-pointer which allowed Brockport to grab the lead at 61-59.
UR answered with an 8-0 run capped by a deep DiBartolomeo three allowed the Yellowjackets to regain the lead at 67-61. The Yellowjackets kept firing from long range and after two more threes by DiBartolomeo and Dende, the lead was back up to nine in favor of UR, 75-66 with under four minutes left on the clock.