A back-and-forth UAA battle in a Sunday matinee at the Louis Alexander Palestra went to visiting Case Western Reserve University, as the Spartans nipped the University of Rochester men's basketball team by a 75-73 score.

CWRU, ranked #2 in the latest Division III poll, improves to 15-1 on the season and takes sole possession of first place in the University Athletic Association. Rochester drops to .500 on the season, seeing its record sit at 8-8 overall and 2-3 in the UAA.

Rochester junior Logan Jagodzinski had a fadeaway 3-point attempt at the buzzer ricochet off the rim, allowing Case Western Reserve to hang for the victory.

The Yellowjackets battled back from as many as 14 points down in the second half to pull event multiple times in the closing minutes, but were unable to break through and grab the lead late.

UR's key run in the second half was a 15-5 burst over a 4:30 span, led by Jagodzinski, Matt Wiele and Andrew Jackson who each scored five points.

Rochester's run immediately followed a hot start to the second half from CWRU, that allowed the Spartans to build a game-high 14-point lead with 11:23 left in regulation.

After UR trimmed the lead back down to four following a Jackson driving layup inside, CWRU's Sam Trunley made two free throws to push the deficit back to six.

The Yellowjackets followed with six straight points, as Jagodzinski and Matt Niemczura each made two free throws, sandwiched around a Tomiwa Adetosoye twisting layup in the lane, tying the game at 65-all with 5:01 on the clock.

Both teams traded scoring possessions over the next two minutes, with a Jagodzinski bucket moving the score to 71-71 with three minutes left.

CWRU made one free throw to grab the lead and earned possession back after a Yellowjackets turnover on offense. Another 1-for-2 trip to the line for the Spartans allowed CWRU to regain the 2-point cushion.

Adetosoye missed on a driving layup, but Wiele was there for the big offensive rebound and put back in a layup, once again pulling the teams even.

After a Spartan missed 3-pointer, Rochester had a chance to take the lead, but CWRU's defense came up with another big play, forcing a UR turnover to get the ball back with just 35 seconds remaining.

A well-executed back-door cut from Colin Kahl got him wide open for a go-ahead bucket with seven seconds left, with Anthony Mazzeo assisting on the play for the Spartans.

CWRU called a timeout to set up their defense, and after making a couple passes around the offensive zone, Rochester was unable to find a shot it liked, settling for Jagodzinski's 30-footer that clanged off the rim.

Much of the opening half was played with both teams within a couple of possessions of each other. After scoring the opening bucket on a Wiele layup, Rochester saw the visiting Spartans grab the lead and hold it for the better part of games first 10-minute stretch.

Back-to-back triples from Wiele and Adetosoye pulled the 'Jackets back in front 23-22 with 10:17 left in the half.

Trunley made an old-fashioned 3-point play at the other end for the Spartans and Mazzeo followed with a 1-for-2 trip to the free throw line and Case Western Reserve was back up by three.

Wiele and Adetosoye combined on back-to-back buckets inside this time over the next two minutes, putting the Yellowjackets back in front.

Late in the half, a Jagodzinski 3-pointer boosted UR's lead to a game-high five points, up 40-35.

CWRU closed out the final 90 seconds of the half with six straight points though, holding a 41-40 lead at intermission.

Wiele ended up leading Rochester with 22 points and 12 rebounds. He shot 9-for-13 from the field and added 3 assists and 2 steals. Jagodzinski ended 7-for-12 from the floor and scored 19 points, with Adetosoye scoring 14 points, 12 of which came in the first half.

Jackson led UR's bench with a season-high eight points, but Rochester ended up getting outscored by the Spartan reserves 37-11.

CWRU's leading scorer was a bench player, as Trunley scored a game-high 23 points. He grabbed 4 rebounds, made three 3-pointers and was 8-for-8 from the charity stripe.

Umar Rashid had a double-double for the Spartans, finishing with 14 points, 12 rebounds and 4 steals, while Mazzeo scored just 13 points, under his season scoring average of 20 points per game.

Up next, the Yellowjackets hit the road next weekend, playing at another nationally ranked team on Friday, playing at NYU at 7:30 pm. UR closes out the road slate next week at Brandeis on Sunday at noon.