A quick look at the final score makes it look like Rochester dominated for 40 minutes.

The Yellowjackets did defeat Eastern 88-65. It took everything in the first round of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament at Marietta College's Ban Johnson Arena on Friday afternoon.

And, yes, Rochester never trailed.

But Rochester coach Luke Flockerzi realizes his squad had to battle hard to earn the win.

"Winning in March is hard. I am really excited for our group. We played well and beat a good team," he said. "It was two contrasting styles of play. We knew it was going to be a game of runs because of their defensive intensity. We told our guys that they need to weather the storm. But we built a lead, they came back. We built a lead, they came back."

The closest the game got in the second half was 58-53 with 12:10 to play. From there, Rochester (18-8) built a 20-point advantage with 7:19 remaining. Once again, the Eagles (21-6) battled and cut the score to 12 — but never got any closer.

Eastern coach Dan Pruessner said the early first-half deficit made it tough on his squad.

"They are a tough team to get behind," he said. "It's going to open up more opportunities for them to go back door on us because of how we had to play. This was a new experience for all of these guys. We did play better later in the first half, but we were just not able to get over that hump."

Rochester, a member of the University Athletic Association, made the tournament as an at-large selection based on the strength of its schedule.

The Yellowjackets led by as many as 18 in the first half, but Eastern proved to be scrappy and closed the gap to six and trailed 50-44. Both teams shot well — 64.5 percent for Rochester and 60.7 percent for Eastern — in the first half, but the Yellowjackets never trailed.

Jaron Fairweather sparked the Eagles with two 3-point baskets and Sam Gallardo had 11 points. Brian Amabilino Perez led the Yellowjackets in scoring with 13.8 points per game this season and he gave the Eagles trouble early, scoring the first eight points for Rochester. He finished with 11 points in the first half.

Rochester scored 34 points in the paint in the first half as Eastern, the regular-season champs of the Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth, struggled to stop the back-door cuts.

Amabilino Perez led all scorers with 29 points, and he also had a game-best nine rebounds.

"Our coaches told us they were going to put a lot of pressure on us," he said. "Our guards did a good job handling the ball, and that set us up for success."

Ross Gang scored 14 points to go along with seven rebounds and eight assists in the win. He said the Yellowjackets need to play better defense to keep advancing in the tournament.

"We were scoring a lot, but we pride ourselves on defense," he said. "Our standard is to hold a team under 40 percent shooting."

Rochester's defense was better in the second half as it held Eastern to 22.2-percent shooting. For the game, the Eagles shot 41.8 percent. Rochester, on the other hand, didn't miss much and finished at 59.3 percent.

"That's the most points we've given up in a half all year," Pruessner said. "These guys still aren't grasping what they accomplished this year. What these guys have done throughout this season. It's historic."

William Biet, who played his final game at Eastern, scored 18 points.

"It's an amazing way to end my career, to be able to compete at the highest level," he said. "Memorable is a good word, but it was hectic, too. This gym is not even full, and we felt it."

Jaron Fairweather, who will be back with the Eagles next season, said despite the loss, he learned a lot about his future.

"This is something I dreamed of playing in the NCAA Tournament and we're one of the top 64 teams in the country," said Fairweather, who scored 11 points. "We rarely play a team like that. We got behind and when you are playing another top 64 team it is not easy to come back and win. We're losing three of our top guys, but I can guarantee you we will be back here next year.

This was the first time the two schools have played in basketball.