ROCHESTER, NY- Late excitement rocked the Louis Alexander Palestra as the University of Rochester men's basketball team won a thriller 74-68 over SUNY Plattsburg in their season opener Friday night.
The early part of the game was played at a very up-tempo pace with the team's running back and forth down the court exchanging baskets. The Cardinals (1-1) then went on a mini run to quiet the raucous Palestra crowd cheering on the Yellowjacket men in their first game of the year.
A couple of back-to-back Plattsburgh turnovers got the momentum back in the Yellowjackets favor and they then cut the lead to one with and 9-0 run with four minutes remaining in the half.
Two jumpers from
John DiBartolomeo and
Chris Dende after two more Plattsburgh miscues gave UR their first lead in nearly 16 minutes at 33-30.
The first half ended with the Yellowjackets (1-0) on top by one, 36-35.
Plattsburgh got the first six points of the second session to go their way and snatched the momentum in their favor and go on top 41-36.
A couple of Cardinal misses partnered with some sharp shooting by the Yellowjackets helped them go on an 11-0 run to answer and take the lead right back at 47-41. Another 6-0 Cardinal run once again tied the score back up at 47-47 in a back-and-forth second half.
The leadership of All-American DiBartolomeo then shined through when the junior electrified the crowd and his team with two spectacular circus shots to put Rochester up by seven at 57-50.
The lead remained at around seven until Plattsburgh applied lots of pressure on the defensive end as was able to chip away at the lead with multiple buckets by Shavar Fields and Shamoy McIntosh, making the score 66-63 in favor of the home Yellowjackets. Two Ketema Brooks free throws then made the lead only one with fewer than two minutes to play.
After
Marcus Williams made one of two free throws, the sophomore Fields showed he wasn't afraid of the #8 ranked team in the country by draining a deep three to put Plattsburg up by one, 68-67 with under 30 seconds remaining. A blocking call then put DiBartolomeo at the line and he calmly made the first to tie the score at 68. The second free throw rattled out but Williams was there to clean it up and put Rochester up by two.
Plattsburgh then ran down and attempted to score but after a 3-pointer rattled out, the visitors were whistled for a foul that put UR at the line. A bench technical foul followed by the free throws all by DiBartolomeo then put the game out of reach. The clock then ran out and the Yellowjackets scored the victory 74-68.
DiBartolomeo led the way for Rochester with 22 points (7-10 FG), eight rebounds and six assists. Sophomore
Nate Vernon was a perfect 4-4 from three to finish with 14 points, good for second on the team. Senior Nate Novosel had a big first half but cooled off in the second to finish with 11 points.
Fields finished with 25 points for the Cardinals while Junghoon Roh was the only other scorer in double figures for Plattsburgh, finishing with 12 points.
The win puts UR in the Resler Tournament Championship game against Keystone College, while Plattsburgh will take on Ursinus in the Consolation Game.
