University of Rochester men's basketball wrapped up its 2024 home slate with an 83-63 win over the Ithaca College Bombers on Tuesday evening inside the Louis Alexander Palestra, outpacing the Bombers by 20 points in the second half to pull away with the victory.
Logan Jagodzinski broke a 32-32 tie with his three-pointer just under a minute into the second half, and after a missed layup on the Bombers' ensuing possession, Bennett Kwiecinski sank a hook shot to extend the 'Jackets lead to five with 18:36 to play.
Another bucket from Kwiecinski made it a seven-point game, as UR opened the second half on a 7-0 run, holding the Bombers scoreless for the first 2:10 of the second period.
Evan Cabral's three-point play then broke the second-half seal for Ithaca, as the Bombers quickly answered Rochester's run with one of their own, scoring the next eight points to cut the deficit to just one, 39-38, on Jaylon O'Neal's triple with 17:13 left in the second half.
The two sides would remain deadlocked over the next four minutes, with UR holding onto a slim lead as Ithaca twice cut the deficit to one. Five-straight points from Ethan McEachern brought Rochester's lead out to six, but the Bombers answered over the next two minutes, making it a three-point game on Aidan Holmes' and-one just shy of the 12:30 mark of the second.
Over the next 6:03 though, the 'Jackets would get on a roll, while the Bombers went cold, shooting just 1-for-11 from the field and 0-for-5 from free over the stretch. UR outscored Ithaca, 18-2 over the next six minutes, turning a three-point lead at the 12:34 mark into a 66-47 lead with just over six-and-a-half minutes left.
Nate Sock's triple from Kwiecinski got the run going, while layups from Luke Razi and Kwiecinski stretched the lead out to double digits, 57-45, with under 10 minutes to play. And while Cabral's driving layup broke the scoreless stretch for Ithaca, a thunderous dunk from David Ackles, assisted by Camden Fleming, on the ensuing possession once again made it a 12-point game.
Sock then hit another three to stretch the lead out to 15, before four-straight points from McEachern capped off the run to make it a 19-point, 66-47 game with 6:21 left.
The Bombers tried to answer, cutting UR's lead to just 15, 71-56, over the next two minutes as they implemented a full-court press, but the 'Jackets would prevent Ithaca from getting any closer. Kwiecinski knocked down a layup off Jagodzinski's assist before throwing down a pair of dunks as UR beat the Bombers' full-court pressure.
Kwiecinski's first dunk made it a 17-point lead, while his second with 2:34 left stretched the 'Jackets' advantage to 18, before layups from Theo Murray and Bernard Dushie Jr. made it a 20-point victory before the final buzzer sounded.
The Yellowjackets opened the first half on a bit of a run as well, leading by seven, 15-7, in the opening period following Savvas Gonatas' jumper at the 15:00 mark of the first. Gonatas and Sock combined for nine of UR's first 15 points over the first five minutes of play, before an 8-0 run from the visitors gave the Bombers their first lead of the night.
Triples by Logan Wendell and Aidan Holmes gave Ithaca a 16-15 advantage, which UR quickly erased over the next four minutes. UR held the Bombers scoreless for nearly five minutes, as Nate Beitel's layup from Fleming helped Rochester retake the lead before four-straight points from Ackles made it a 21-16 advantage.
The 'Jackets led by as many as seven in the first half before back-to-back-to-back triples again gave the Bombers the lead, with Wendell's three-pointer making it 32-30 in favor of the Bombers with 1:33 left in the first half.
Kwiecinski then tied the score with two free throws, drawing a shooting foul on the ensuing possession, and neither side would score again before the break, heading into the locker room all square at 32.
Rochester moves to 6-2 with the win, while the Bombers drop to 3-2 with the loss.
Four 'Jackets scored in double figures, led by Jagodzinski's 19 points, while Kwiecinski scored 18, Sock tallied 15 points and McEachern notched 11. Sock added a team-high nine rebounds while Jagodzinski led all scorers with six assists, while four different 'Jackets: Ackles, Fleming, Kwiecinski and Sock, each tallied two steals.
As a team, Rochester shot 56.1 percent from the floor and 44.4 percent (8-for-18) from three, while the Bombers shot just 31.4 percent overall, and 29.4 percent (10-for-34) from distance.
Rochester also outrebounded the Bombers, 46-32, including 35-17 on the defensive glass, and dominated the visitors in the paint, 46-24.
The Yellowjackets next head to Medford, MA for the 2024 UAA Challenge, opening their two games in Boston with a matchup against No. 16 Tufts University on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 2:00 p.m.