BUFFALO, NY – Bryant & Stratton College of Buffalo withstood a late University of Rochester rally on Tuesday night, earning a 91-79 win at the Park School.
The Bobcats (10-5) were clutch at the free throw line, going 9-for-9 in the last two and a half minutes of the game, and shot 17-18 overall in the contest from the charity stripe.
Rochester (1-2) trailed by as many as 20 points with under five minutes to play in the game, but mounted a furious rally, wreaking havoc with its press and trimming the deficit to just six with a 14-0 run spanning 2:08.
Ross Gang started the spurt with a fast break layup, and after the bucket UR called timeout to put on the press. After a Bobcat turnover and layup miss on the next two possessions, Kailan Lee sank back-to-back 3-pointers to make the score 78-66.
Brian Amabilino Perez stole the ensuing inbounds pass and sank a layup and after a miss at the other end, Gang ran the floor and scored, cutting the lead to eight. Another inbounds pass steal by T.C. Price led to a Josiah Knight layup and Rochester was right back in the game.
After a Bryant & Stratton timeout, Sam Dorissaint made a huge play for the Bobcats, tipping in a miss and was fouled, slamming the door on Rochester's run with the three-point play.
UR got two free throws on the next possession, but were held to just one more field goal the rest of the game as the host Bobcats held off the Yellowjackets with its strong free throw shooting.
Rochester's Ryan Algier ended as the teams leading scorer, recording 17 points and eight rebounds. Amabilino Perez had 14 points and three steals while Lee had 12 points, coming on four 3-pointers. Mitchell Kershner had 10 points off the bench while Gang ended with nine points, five rebounds and four assists.
For Bryant & Stratton, Dorissaint was the player of the game with 24 points and 12 rebounds for the double-double. Davon Ware had 20 points, including going 10-for-10 from the free throw line, and Eric Waters had 15 points and five rebounds, including a couple of highlight dunks for the Bobcats. RaeQuan Scott chipped in 13 points and Shyquinn Dix had 10 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists for Bryant & Stratton.
UR returns to action on Sunday when the Yellowjackets host Clarkson University at 4 pm at the Blue Cross Arena in downtown Rochester.