ROCHESTER, N.Y.. - Fourth-ranked Washington University-St. Louis staved off a late rally and defeated the University of Rochester, 70-61, in a men's basketball game on Sunday afternoon at the Louis Alexander Palestra.
 
Rochester battled back from an 18-point deficit to close within six points three times – the last with 31 seconds remaining. Washington sank six of eight free throw attempts in the time left to ensure the victory.
 
The Bears improved to 12-1 overall, 2-0 in the University Athletic Association. Washington defeated Emory University in Atlanta on Friday evening by an almost identical score (72-61). WU has won 11 straight. Rochester slipped to 9-4 overall, 1-2 in the UAA. The Yellowjackets grabbed their first UAA win of the season with a 78-52 victory over the University of Chicago on Friday.
 
Jack Nolan led Washington with 29 points. He hit 9-18 from the floor, 2-6 on three-point tries, and 9-11 at the foul line. Charlie Jacob scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Hayden Doyle had 11 points and five assists for Washington.
 
Rochester's scoring leader was Brian Amabilino Perez. He had 17 points. Trent Noordsij and Dan Masino scored nine points apiece. Andrew Jackson had eight points, and Matt Niemczura scored seven.
 
The Yellowjackets shot a collective .463 from the floor (25-54) but struggled from long range (4-20). Washington overcame a .382 shooting performance by hitting seven three-point shots and making 21 of 28 from the foul line. The Bears scored 21 points from 19 Rochester turnovers. UR scored 13 points after WU turnovers and had 38 points in the paint. 
It was tight for the first half (which ended with Washington ahead, 33-29). There were six ties and nine lead changes in the opening 20 minutes. WU opened the second half with a 16-6 surge with Nolan scoring 11 of the 16 Bear points. His two free throws stretched Washington's lead to 49-35 with 10:51 left. Amir Basma made a layup for Rochester (52-39) but Doyle hit a three from in front of his own bench and Nolan added both ends of a one-and-one with nine minutes left. It was WU's biggest lead at 18 (57-39).
 
The Yellowjackets found some consistency offensively. Masino made a layup to start a 9-0 run which included a backdoor layup from Noordsij, a roling hook shot cross the lane from Amabilino Perez, and a three-pointer by Masino from left wing. It was 57-48 with 6:03 on the clock. David Windley hit a trey out of the right corner to put the guests up by 12 (60-48). Amabilino Perez made a layup and Noordsij sank a trey from the left corner. That put the deficit at 60-54 with 2:54 remaining.
 
They swapped scores for the next two minutes. Nolan hit at the elbow, then Masino drove for a layup. Jacob knocked down two free throws with :42 left. Amabilino Perez drove for a layup five seconds later (64-58 at 0:37). UR was forced to foul and Washington sealed it at the stripe.

Rochester hits the road in the UAA next weekend. The Yellowjackets are scheduled to play Carnegie Mellon on the road on January 21 and at Case Reserve on January 23. UR's next home weekend is January 28-30 when NYU and Brandeis are scheduled.