GENEVA, NY – The University of Rochester men's basketball team couldn't find a rhythm offensively, shooting just 34% from the floor, in a 72-61 loss on the road at Hobart College on Tuesday evening.
#16 Rochester drops to 2-1 on the season while Hobart (2-0) picks up its second win over a ranked opponent in as many tries this season.
Junior Ryan Clamage led all players with 25 points, coming on 9-15 shooting and 5-7 from three point range, but was the only UR player to make above 50% of his field goals. Clamage added a team high eight rebounds and two steals. Teammate Jacob Wittig scored 12 points, had six rebounds and six assists, and Patrick Benka chipped in eight points.
Four players for the Statesmen eclipsed 10 points, led by Jamal Lucas and Tucker Lescoe who each had 17 points. Dan Masino added 14 points and six rebounds while Matt Walsh had 13 points for Hobart.
With Rochester up one at 15-14, the Statesmen rattled off a 10-0 spurt to grab a nine point advantage with 6:46 to play in the first half. The run was fueled by back-to-back 3-pointers from Lucas and four points in the paint from Walsh.
Rochester would chip away, with its next three baskets being from long range, two from Clamage and one from Wittig, to pull within one with 3:37 remaining, with Hobart eventually heading to the break with a two point edge at 35-33.
In the second half, a Brendan O'Shea old-fashioned 3-point play put UR up one at 41-40 with 16:21 to go, the only field goal made by either team for nearly the next five and half minutes of game action. The only other scoring during that timeframe was a single free throw by Lucas to tie the score.
Lescoe finally broke the drought for both sides with a layup with 11 minutes on the clock.
O'Shea drained a three to answer, but Hobart attacked the Yellowjacket interior, getting to the line for five made free throws over the next 90 seconds to pull ahead by four with 7:43 remaining.
A Wittig jumper from the free throw line made the score 51-48 Hobart, but Rochester turned the ball over three times on its next three possessions and then missed the front end of a one-and-one, spurring a 6-0 Statesmen rush which built the lead back to nine with five minutes on the clock.
Another Clamage triple stopped the run, but Hobart would answer every Yellowjacket basket the rest of the way, keeping the lead at least four over the final three minutes of the contest to send UR home with the loss.
Rochester returns to action this Saturday and Sunday when they host the UR/Holiday Inn Rochester Downtown Tournament. The Yellowjackets open the tournament on Saturday at 5 pm against SUNY Canton, while Stockton and Keuka play in the other semifinal matchup at 7 pm. Sunday's consolation game is at 1 pm, with the final slated for a 3 pm tip.