HENRIETTA, NY – After a sluggish start, the 11th-ranked University of Rochester men's basketball team used a huge second half to rally past St. John Fisher University 81-76 in the opening round of the Mark's Pizzeria Crosstown shootout on Thursday evening at RIT's Clark Gymnasium.
 
The Yellowjackets move to 4-0 with the victory, avenging last season's loss to the Cardinals (1-3) in the 2021 edition of the Mark's Crosstown tournament.
 
All five starters for Rochester finished the game with double-figures in scoring, led by graduate student Ryan Algier who had 16 points, sinking 4-of-5 from 3-point range. Ross Gang scored 14 points and added 6 rebounds and 4 assists, while Mitchell Kershner recorded 13 points, including a pair of triples.
 
Fellow starters Dan Masino and Matt Wiele each scored 10 points each.
 
St. John Fisher started out the contest on fire, making six of their first eight shots, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range to race out to an early 16-2 lead just over four minutes into the game.
 
Brendan Trapper scored three triple's in the run, starting off his 24-point fast. He ended up leading all scorers and finished with five 3-pointers made.
 
Throughout the rest of the half, the Yellowjackets got within six on a pair of occasions, but a strong closing to the period by Fisher's Daniel Cook boosted the lead back up to nine at intermission, with the Cardinals up 40-31.
 
Cook finished with 19 points (8-12 FG) and eight rebounds in a losing effort.
 
In the second half, the Yellowjackets used the long ball to get right back into it, with Wiele and Algier nailing back-to-back treys to cut the deficit to three just 76 seconds in.
 
The Cardinals answered the spurt though, holding off Rochester and went back up by six following a Jack Foley 3-pointer with 13:20 to go, putting Fisher up 50-44.
 
Rochester scored the next seven points to take its first lead of the game, with Gang scoring all three baskets in the run, including a 3-pointer with 12:06 to play to pull the Yellowjackets ahead 51-50.
 
On the next possession, Foley hit another three for the Cardinals to give them what would be their last lead of the game.
 
Logan Jagodzinski on the other end got an and-one basket and free throw to pull even and Algier followed with a 3-pointer to put UR up by four with 11 minutes on the clock.
 
The Cardinals pulled back even with four straight, but a Jagodzinski dunk and 3-pointer from C.J. Amsellem ignited a 16-5 run for the Yellowjackets to pull Rochester up by 11 with just over four minutes remaining.
 
St. John Fisher got as close as five points down in the final minutes, but the Yellowjackets sank enough free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
 
Overall in the contest, Rochester shot 49% from the floor (28-for-57) and was 46% (11-for-24) from 3-point range. The Yellowjackets finished with 23 assists on 28 buckets and committed just 11 turnovers in the win.
 
Fisher ended the game with a 48% shooting percentage, making 28-of-58 shots from the floor. The Cardinals added 9-for-25 (36%) shooting from distance and committed 14 turnovers in the loss.
 
The predetermined pairings for the second day of the tournament on Saturday will feature Rochester against Nazareth at 6 pm, while host RIT plays St. John Fisher at 8 pm.
 
In the other game on Thursday, Nazareth ended up defeating RIT 79-58, setting up Saturday's contest as a de facto title game.