A valiant second half comeback fell just short as the 3rd-ranked University of Rochester's perfect season came to an end in an 81-76 loss to 20th-ranked Washington University in St. Louis on Sunday afternoon in the Louis Alexander Palestra.
The #3 Yellowjackets (13-1, 2-1 UAA) fought back from as many as 14 points down in the second half, trimming the Bears lead to just two with under one minute to play, but visiting Washington (11-3, 3-0 UAA) hung on for the victory, its fifth straight, all of which have come on the road.
UR was led by Sam Borst-Smith who scored 18 points and grabbed a game high 11 rebounds, while teammate Mack Montague added 18 of his own, chipping in five 3-pointers. Andrew Lundstrom played a key role off the bench, contributing 14 points, six rebounds and five assists while Ryan Clamage scored 10 points.
Washington was paced by three starters who scored in double figures. Andrew Sanders had 18 points and nine rebounds while Clinton Hooks added 16 points and eight boards. Michael Bregman chipped in 15 points while Matt Highsmith scored 10 with eight rebounds off the bench for the Bears.
The key stretch in the game came when the visiting Bears embarked on an 18-3 run over six and a half minutes midway through the second half. Washington shot well, 7-11 during the run, compared to just 1-6 for the Yellowjackets who also committed three turnovers in the stretch. Jake Knupp had six points in the run while Sanders contributed four.
After the Wash U run, Rochester scored the next eight points to pull within six with 4:41 to play. Borst-Smith was able to finish off a layup coming from a nice Jacob Wittig assist while Montague sank a trey the next time down the floor. Clamage finished the run with three free throws before Washington's Knupp stopped the scoring with a three at the other end.
The Bears were able to build the lead back up to 11 with 3:05 on the clock, but Rochester refused to go away, forcing four Washington turnovers over a two-minute span to close within two. Another Montague triple, paired with a big Clamage three were key shots for the Yellowjackets, with Wittig assisting on both. The sophomore point guard finished with 10 helpers along with six points and three steals.
Washington then was able to get a big jumper from Highsmith at the elbow with 27 seconds on the clock, pulling the Bears back up by four. Rochester's next possession ended empty and Sanders made 1-2 free throws at the other end to reach the final margin of five.
Late in the first half, Rochester went on a 12-2 run to break a 20-20 tie, pulling ahead by as many as ten points with six minutes on the clock, UR's biggest lead of the contest. Borst-Smith had the hot hand in the stretch, scoring 10 of the 12 points for the 'Jackets.
Overall in the game, the two squads shot nearly identical from the floor, with UR shooting 28-64 (44%) while the Bears were 28-64 (43%). UR was solid at the line, making 12-13 attempts while the Bears missed 11 of their 30 chances at the charity stripe. Wash U held the advantage on the glass, outrebounding UR 46-26, including holding a 16-7 edge on the offensive boards.
Rochester will now hit the road in the UAA for the first time next weekend, traveling to Carnegie Mellon on Friday and Case Western Reserve next Sunday.