PITTSBURGH, PA – Logan Jagodzinski scored a career-high 25 points, and Ross Gang hit 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to help the University of Rochester men's basketball pull out an 82-78 conference road win over Carnegie Mellon on Sunday inside Wiegand Gymnasium.
The win helped the Yellowjackets snap a three-game losing streak and sweep the season series against the Tartans for the fourth-consecutive season.
Nick Nakasian got the scoring started for the Tartans, breaking the seal with his jumper 26 seconds into the opening period. Jagodzinski quickly answered on the other end, knocking down his first of six made three-pointers to give UR an early lead.
T.C. Price's layup after a CMU miss extended Rochester's lead out to three, as the Tartans and Yellowjackets went back-and-forth, for much of the early going.
Jack Stone answered with a three for Carnegie Mellon on the other end, evening the score at 5-5, before the two sides stood tied again at 7-7 and 9-all with 15:44 to play in the first half.
Off an alley-oop from Matt Wiele, Jagodzinski gave the Yellowjackets a 9-7 lead, scoring seven-straight points to put UR in front, 14-9, with under 15 to play in the first and force the Tartans to spend a timeout.
Out of the timeout, Carnegie Mellon roared back, pulling within two on Kevin Sax's free throws, by Ryan Algier's three-point play kept the 'Jackets in front by five.
However, a quick 9-2 run over the next 3:04 tied the game at 22 for the Tartans, and Jack Stone gave CMU its first lead since early on with a layup with 7:59 left in the first.
A quick Jagodzinski three put UR right back in front though, and the Yellowjackets would close the first half on a 15-0 run, holding CMU scoreless for nearly five minutes to head into the locker room with a 40-28 lead.
Six different Yellowjackets scored baskets over the 15-0 run, as Rochester shot 4-for-5 from the field and 6-for-7 from the free throw line to end the half.
Rochester then kept things rolling to start the second half, extending their lead out to 18, on a trio of layups from Gang and Algier, forcing Carnegie Mellon to spend yet another timeout down 48-30, just 1:18 into the second half.
But the Tartans would slowly chip away at Rochester's lead, outscoring the 'Jackets, 9-3, over a three-minute stretch to pull within 13, before cutting the deficit down to single digits on Nakasian's free throws with 10:01 to play.
Up 59-52, Jagodzinski again came up clutch, finding the bottom on a triple to put UR back up 10, but the Tartans kept coming, with Kevin Sax scoring three-straight to pull CMU within seven.
Gang and Jagodzinski answered on the other end to put Rochester back up 10, 65-55, but a three-point play by Jack Stone again pulled CMU within seven.
Wiele then knocked down a three and hit two free throws to put UR up 12, 70-58, with 5:37 remaining.
A minute later, Aidan Booher's three pulled the Tartans within nine, kicking off an 11-2 run for CMU that brought the Tartans back within a possession, 74-71, with under a minute to play.
Carnegie Mellon held UR without a field goal for nearly three minutes, as they pulled within three on back-to-back layups by R.J. Holmes.
Undeterred though, Jagodzinski sank another three, this time from the left wing to put UR back up six, but Stone answered with a step-back triple on the other end to keep CMU within a possession, 77-74, with 18 seconds left.
Forced to foul, CMU sent Gang to the line, and the senior hit them both, but off an offensive rebound, Justin Allen again hit a three, pulling CMU within two 79-77, with five seconds left.
Again, CMU sent Gang to the line, who went 1-for-2, and up three Rochester fouled Stone, who made the first and purposely missed the second. But Rochester got the rebound, and Gang this time made them both, and UR held the Tartans without a shot on their final possession to finish off the 82-78 victory.
With the win, Rochester moves to 15-7 (5-6 UAA) on the year, while the Tartans drop to 15-7 (7-4 UAA).
Jagodzinski led UR with a career-high 25 points, shooting 9-for-18 from the field and 6-for-10 from three, adding seven rebounds, an assist and a steal.
Gang joined Jagodzinski in double figures, scoring 18 points to go along with nine rebounds and seven assists, falling just short of a triple-double, while Wiele also tallied double figures with 13 points, adding five rebounds, five assists and two steals.
As a team, UR shot 45.9 percent and 41.7 percent (10-for-24) from three, while the Tartans shot 46.4 percent and 50.0 percent (6-for-12) from beyond the arc.
The Yellowjackets next return home for their final three games of the regular season, beginning with a matchup against Brandies on Friday, Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m. inside the Louis Alexander Palestra.