SCHENECTADY, NY - Sophomores Sam Borst-Smith and Mack Montague missed game-tying 3-point attempts with under 20 seconds to play as host Union College held on for a 67-63 victory over the University of Rochester men's basketball team on Saturday evening.
Rochester (4-6) closes out its 2014 portion of its schedule with its fourth straight defeat while Union (5-2) wins its second straight contest.
The Yellowjackets were led by junior Jared Seltzer who set new career highs in points (20) and rebounds (11). Borst-Smith finished with 12 points and four rebounds while Montague hit three 3-pointers and ended with 11.
Union came out on fire in the second half of the contest, quickly erasing a 6-point halftime deficit with a 23-9 run over the first six minutes to grab a 51-43 lead. The Dutchmen hit 9 of 12 shots to open the second 20 minutes with Terell Winney scoring 10 of his team high 15 points in the run.
Two Seltzer free throws would put UR back in front at 57-56, but Deshon Burgess would respond on the next possession for Union with a 3-pointer to grab the lead right back. Overall, the game featured seven ties and six lead changes.
With 3:28 left, Dylan Peretz made a layup cutting the Union lead, making the score 63-61 in favor of the Dutchmen. The next basket would then come with just 44 seconds left on the clock, with Union's Zachary Bouton draining a big insurance three to put Union up 66-61. Borst-Smith would answer by running down the floor and slipping a layup in, getting the deficit back to three with 38 seconds to go.
UR would then get a Dutchmen turnover with under 30 seconds to play, but was unable to hit the tying shot with time running out. William Hython would then hit one of two from the charity stripe to seal the victory for Union.
In the first half, UR would trail 13-11 at the 11:04 mark before rattling off a 13-4 run to allow for a six point lead with 5:43 left. Montague and Seltzer both would hit from behind the arc to help spark the 'Jackets.
Rochester's lead would the stretch out to 11, the biggest of the game for either side after a Tucker Knox old fashioned 3-point play, but the Dutchmen would close the half strong, trimming the lead to just six at the break.
The Yellowjackets now are off for the holiday break until January 6th when they travel to Ohio Northern for their final non-conference game of the year. Also over the break, UR hosts Brock University (CAN) in an exhibition on December 31st at 4 pm in the Palestra.