CLEVELAND, OH – Despite a season-high 17 steals on the defensive end, the University of Rochester men's basketball team struggled to find its shooting touch on offense, falling 74-61 to 24th-ranked Case Western Reserve University on Sunday afternoon at Horsburgh Gymnasium.
The loss drops Rochester to 10-5 on the season overall and 2-3 in the UAA play. Case Western Reserve gets back in the win column after seeing its 12-game win streak snapped on Friday, moving to 13-2 overall and 3-1 in the UAA.
Rochester as a team shot just 40% overall, 24-of-60 from the floor, made only two 3-pointers and was 11-of-20 (55%) from the free throw line. The 61 points tied for second fewest in a game this season and the two triples were the fewest by the Yellowjackets in 2021-22.
Case Western Reserve meanwhile shot at a 55% clip from the floor, going 29-of-52 in the contest. The Spartans made 40% behind the arc (8-of-20) and were at 73% from the charity stripe.
Brian Amabilino Perez was the bright spot for Rochester, scoring a game-high 24 points. He added four rebounds and four steals in the defeat. Trent Noordsij chipped in 8 points, 3 rebounds and 3 steals. Ross Gang led UR with five steals and had six points.
Four CWRU players scored in double-figure points, led by Mitch Prendergast who had 20 points, including four 3-pointers. Robert Faller had 11 points and five rebounds while Cole Frilling and Brian Hines each scored 10 for the Spartans. Hunter Drenth added nine points on 4-of-4 shooting off the bench.
The first half saw each team go on big runs, with Case Western Reserve getting things started with a 17-5 run out of the gate. Over the opening six and a half minutes, the Spartans were on fire shooting the ball, going 7-for-9. UR in that span was 2-for-8 and committed three turnovers.
After a timeout, the Yellowjackets scored the next 16 points of the game, spanning nearly five minutes to take a 21-17 lead. UR returned the favor with some hot shooting, mostly from Amabilino Perez in the paint, going 7-for-9 during the stretch, adding four steals on the defensive end.
Case's Ryan Newton sank a three to end the run, but six straight points for Rochester, including a Matt Niemczura 3-pointer pushed UR's lead to seven, its biggest of the game.
The Spartans battled back to tie it at 33-33 with a minute left in the half, with Rochester eventually heading to the locker room at halftime up by three, 38-35.
Midway through the second half, Matt Wiele drained a layup and the score was tied 52-all. The teams followed by trading one free throw each way before Gang recorded a bucket to give Rochester its last lead of the game, up 55-53 with 8:47 left.
Afterwards, Case Western Reserve went lights out from the field, making six of its next seven shots over a 14-1 rush to grab an 11-point lead with just 3:27 on the clock.
Dan Masino made a free throw and Amabilino Perez added a layup to cut the deficit to eight with under three minutes to play, but it was too little, too late for the Yellowjackets as Case Western Reserve hung on for the victory.
Rochester returns home next weekend for Friday and Sunday matchups in the Palestra against NYU and Brandeis, respectively. Friday's game tips off at 5:30 pm, with Sunday's contest going at noon.