GENESEO, NY – A strong opening night for the #11 University of Rochester men's basketball team ended with a big road victory for the Yellowjackets, winning 79-62 over host SUNY Geneseo on Tuesday evening at Carl Schrader Gymnasium.
 
The win was the second straight on opening night for Rochester (1-0) over the Knights (0-1), and third in the last four seasons for the Yellowjackets. Last season, UR earned a 68-56 win to open the campaign, with the 'Jackets also winning 72-61 in the 2019-20 season opener.
 
Tuesday's leading scorer was preseason All-American Ryan Algier who led all players with 24 points and 11 rebounds. The graduate student was 8-for-11 shooting from the field and sank 8-for-10 free throws on the night, utilizing his tremendous size to his advantage over the smaller Knights lineup.
 
Joining Algier in double-figures was senior Ross Gang who had 15 points and five assists along with fellow graduate student Dan Masino who added 13 points, including three 3-pointers.
 
Rochester as a team held a big advantage on the glass, outrebounding the Knights 40-28. Besides Algier, C.J. Amsellem added eight rebounds, with Andrew Jackson adding four.
 
Midway through the first half, Rochester held a one-point lead at 16-15 following a Gang layup. Buckets by Masino and two by Algier increased the margin to seven, but 3-pointers from Geneseo's Michael Gentile and Harrison Dignan cut the lead to three with 4:20 left in the period.
 
The Yellowjackets outscored the Knights 13-2 the rest of the half to surge into intermission leading by 14, up 39-25. Matt Niemczura kickstarted the run with a 3-pointer, following by two triples from Masino.
 
In the second half, Gang and Algier recorded layups to quickly boost the Rochester lead to 18, but Geneseo tried to chip away over the next few minutes.
 
The lead got down to 11 following a mini 7-0 burst over a two-minute stretch, aided by a layup from Cole Kattan, dunk from Chris Davis and 3-pointer by Ethan St. Lucia.
 
Rochester fought off the Knights though, rattling off 13 straight points to put the game seemingly out of reach, leading 63-39 with 9:14 remaining. Algier was the big scorer in the run, scoring eight points, with Amsellem making an old-fashioned 3-point play and Logan Jagodzinski sinking a driving layup as well.
 
Kattan finished with 14 points to lead Geneseo, while St. Lucia ended with 11. Overall, the Knights shot slightly better from the field at 45.4% to UR's 43.9%.
 
Ten of Algier's points came as second chance points, with Rochester holding a huge advantage in that category, leading 22-4. Rochester's size came into play as well, with the Yellowjackets nearly doubling up the Knights in points in the paint at 44-22.
 
Rochester's next matchup kicks off the home slate, as UR hosts the annual Chuck Resler Tournament at the Palestra on Friday and Saturday. The Yellowjackets play at 8 pm on Friday against Texas-Dallas, with Trinity (Texas) and Fredonia making up the other matchup in the four-team event.