Courtesy of UofRAthletics.com
ST. LOUIS – In a top-25 showdown, host and 21st-ranked Washington University in St. Louis defeated the #15 University of Rochester men’s basketball team 79-61 in Friday night University Athletic Association action at the WashU Field House.
The win keeps Washington (15-4, 6-2 UAA) in a first place tie in the conference standings with Emory University, sitting a game up on third place Case Western Reserve and Carnegie Mellon who are 5-3 as the conference begins its second half schedule.
For the second week in a row, both defenses, strong points of each squad started out the game in control, with the host Bears leading 6-5 after four minutes of play.
Washington’s defense ended up controlling most of the contest, holding the Yellowjackets (14-5, 4-4 UAA) to 38% shooting and just a 3-for-20 mark from 3-point range. The Bears meanwhile, shook off 15 turnovers offensively to shoot over 50% in the game, ending at 55% on the night.
A big 16-1 run by WashU allowed the Bears to build a 16-point lead with under six minutes to play in the half. Will Grudzinski scored five points in the run, while Hayden Doyle and Drake Kindsvater each had four for the Bears who went a perfect 6-for-6 from the field during the five and a half minute stretch.
Rochester looked to battle back, cutting the lead down to five following an 11-0 run immediately after the Bears run. Ross Gang started the spurt with a pair of layups, while Mitchell Kershner and T.C. Price drained triples for the Yellowjackets.
Gang finished with a game-high 23 points in the loss, shooting 10-for-17 from the field. He added four rebounds and five steals, moving him into the top-15 in career steals at Rochester, with 112.
Wash U’s hot shooting restarted, making three baskets on three straight possessions to regain a 12-point lead with two minutes left in the half.
Just before halftime, Dan Masino drained a top of the key 3-pointer to pull Rochester within seven, scoring the 1,000th point of his career, spanning three seasons at Hobart College and two seasons with Rochester.
At the break, the Bears led 38-29, following a last second jumper from Charlie Jacob before the halftime horn.
Rochester could only muster getting within seven points for the better part of the second half before the Bears blew open the game with a 15-1 rush midway through the second half.
The Bears went from up eight at 51-43 near the midway point of the period, to leading by 22, up 66-44 with 7:14 remaining. Kindsvater, Calvin Kapral and Doyle provided all the damage for WashU in the run.
Joining Gang in double-figures was Ryan Algier who had 14 points and four rebounds. Kershner ended with five points, while Logan Jagodzinski pulled down a team-high nine rebounds for the Yellowjackets.
Doyle led the Bears with 18 points and eight rebounds. Kindsvater finished with 16 points, while Jacob produced 13 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.
Rochester returns to action on Sunday when the Yellowjackets head to the Windy City, taking on the University of Chicago in a 12 pm central time tipoff.
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