ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The University of Rochester assembled one of its best performances of the season with a 67-48 victory over Olivet College of Michigan in the championship game of the UR/Holiday Inn Downtown Thanksgiving Invitational at the Louis Alexander Palestra.

While the shooting performances were slightly off-kilter (UR finished at 35.2%, Olivet at 28.1%), the Yellowjackets dominated on the backboards, scored in transition, and gained a major advantage with clutch scoring off the bench.

Mitchell Kershner led all scorers with 19 points. He added eight defensive rebounds, made two steals and handed out one assist in 23 minutes off the bench. Kershner was named the tournament's most valuable player. He scored career point highs in back to back nights (he had 16 points in 27 minutes in Saturday's 72-65 win over Stockton University). He was joined on the all-tournament team by Rochester's Trent Noordsij (11 points, two rebounds vs. Olivet, eight points, eight rebounds, four assists vs. Stockton). Derrick Johnson and Eddie Thigpen of Olivet were named to the team along with Luciano Lubrano of Stockton and Harry Ravitz of Elmira.

Rochester won its third straight game an improved to 6-2. Olivet is 2-2 on the young season. The Comets reached the title game by defeating Elmira, 95-81, on Saturday afternoon.

UR placed four men in double figures. Noordsij had 11 points as did Andrew Jackson (in 15 minutes off the bench). Brian Amabilino Perez had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Ross Gang had 11 rebounds and five assists. Rochester out-rebounded Olivet, 52-43. The Yellowjackets scored 18 points on 12 Olivet turnovers, 18-4 on second chance points, and held a 34-6 advantage in bench scoring.

Eddie Thigpen led Olivet with 15 points, including three three-pointers. Derrick Johnson scored 13 points, including three three-pointers. Johnson had 19 points (five treys) in the semifinal win over Elmira . Thigpen scored 19 as well in that game.

Rochester used a 15-2 run over a five-minute stretch in the first half to build a 26-14 lead. Jackson scored six of the 15. He made a traditional three-point play to put UR ahead to stay at 15-12. Later in the period, he sank a three-pointer, extending the lead to 20-13. C.J. Amsellem scored four points in the burst as did Amabilino Perez.

Kershner had a dozen points by halftime, hitting five of eight from the floor – including some fast break layups – and two of four outside the arc. In the last couple of minutes, he surpassed his career best of 16 (from Saturday) by making two free throws and then adding a layup to complete the scoring.

For Olivet, Noah Wiswary scored 10 points (two treys) while Patrick harris grabbed 10 rebounds. The Comets made 13 threes in their semifinal win (13-30), then hit nine of 32 against Rochester.