ROCHESTER, NY- The University of Rochester men's basketball team was on fire from the floor and tied the Holiday Inn Airport Tournament point record in a 106-58 win over Wells College Saturday night.
The Yellowjackets (3-1) who never trailed in the game shot a combined 64% from the floor and added 13 3-pointers to bounce back in a big way after their first loss on the season Tuesday night at Nazareth. The 106 points was also a UR record for the tournament.
Wells (0-4) seemed a bit overmatched with Rochester's offensive scheme early on and UR quickly jumped out to a 10-2 advantage only five minutes into the game.
Junior
John DiBartolomeo's outstanding all-around play in the first half, coupled with threes from veterans
Chris Dende and
Nate Vernon allowed Rochester to bust the lead up to 35-17 with 6:30 remaining in the first half. DiBartolomeo was the game's best player, finishing with 20 points on 7-8 shooting, adding in 7 assists and 5 rebounds.
Excellent ball movement from the Yellowjackets allowed the lead to expand even further late in the first half, as a
Rob Reid wide open lay-up made the lead 21. Reid had his best game of the year to this point, finishing with 14 points (6-8 FG), 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. At the half, UR led 53-28, while handing out 18 assists on 21 field goals in the first session.
Two Dende three's jumpstarted the Yellowjackets in the second half as the lead expanded further only two minutes into the second half. The senior finished with three 3-pointers on the game.
UR then was able to double up the Express on the scoreboard with two more long balls, this time it was DiBartolomeo sinking the shots from behind the arc. The score at that point was 70-35 in favor of the home Yellowjackets.
Coach
Luke Flockerzi's reserve players got some valuable minutes and got in on the scoring extravaganza with players like
Connor Caldwell,
Mahesh Umasankar,
Kent Coyne and
Greg Pennamon all gaining valuable experience in their young college careers. The four finished with a combined nine points.
Top players for Rochester were DiBartolomeo who led all scorers with the 20 points, Reid who had 14,
Marcus Williams who finished with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists, and Vernon who ended with 16 points on the night (3-4 3-PT FG).
Freshman guards
Kevin Sheehy and
Tyler Seidman combined to score 16 points and dish out seven assists. As a team, Rochester handed out 30 helpers and outrebounded Wells 38 to 22.
For the Express, Kevin Marseille was the top scorer finishing with 13 points on 5-8 shooting from the floor. Preseason All-American Terry Harrison was held to just four points in 11 first half minutes for Wells. Big man Mabior Mayen finished with eight points and four rebounds also.
In the first game of the day, Allegheny College defeated Elmira College 65-48 to earn its spot in the HIA Championship game. The victorious Gators (2-3) were led by James Ness who finished with 15 points (6-8 FG) and Devone McLeod who added 10 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Elmira (0-4) was led by Matt Newell who had 18 points and drained 4 3-pointers.
Allegheny-Elmira Box Score
These results set up the schedule for Sunday which include the consolation game at 1 PM featuring Wells versus Elmira and the championship game which has the Yellowjackets seeking their third straight HIA title against Allegheny at 3 PM.
