NEW YORK - The University of Rochester men's basketball team grabbed their first conference victory against New York University with a 76-62 win on Sunday afternoon at the Hunter College Sportsplex. 
 
The Yellowjackets (10-4, 1-2 UAA) relied early and often on junior Kailan Lee to facilitate the ball. He stuffed the statsheet in the first half with nine points and five assists. Junior Ryan Algier also chipped in with eight points on a perfect 4-4 from the field and four rebounds. 
 
The Violets (7-7, 0-3 UAA) struggled to hit shots from deep, going 1-8 from three-point range in the first 13:45 of the contest. 
 
In the opening 9:16, Rochester constructed a 17-8 run, the largest lead of the first half. Just moments later, NYU retaliated with a 13-4 run of their own to tie the game. 
 
With 7:45 left in the first half, both sides cleaned up their play and kept the game within one possession for over six minutes of play. 
 
While Rochester had a 15-12 advantage in field goals made, they only attempted two shots from the charity stripe in the first half. Due to foul trouble, NYU took advantage by going 8-12 from the free throw line during that stretch. 
 
With NYU leading 35-34 at the half, Rochester opened the second half by forcing five turnovers in the first 9:08 en route to taking a 50-45 lead. Sophomore Ross Gang played a large part in the Yellowjackets defensive efforts, tallying three of Rochester's 12 steals. 
 
Despite drawing only three fouls in the first half, Rochester found themselves in the bonus with 7:20 to go in the second half. After a pair of free throws, the Yellowjackets built a 60-53 lead. 
 
With 4:23 to play, senior Patrick Benka quickly added six points in a mere 30 seconds to advance the lead for Rochester.  
 
The Yellowjackets defense closed the game by allowing only five points in the last 4:30 of the contest. 
 
UR will host its next game on Friday against Case Western Reserve University. Tipoff will take place at 8 pm. New York University will travel to play University of Chicago on the same day.