PALESTRA – The University of Rochester men's basketball team got off to a quick start and ended up cruising to an 84-54 win over Emory University on Saturday at the Louis Alexander Palestra.
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The 4th-ranked Yellowjackets (12-0, 1-0 UAA) jumped out to a 13-2 lead six minutes into the game with the help of some cold Emory shooting to open the contest. The visiting Eagles (9-3, 0-1 UAA), made just one of eight attempts out of the gate.
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After Emory scored five straight points to cut its deficit to six, UR then rattled off an extended 15-4 run over seven minutes to regain a big 17-point lead. Again, the Eagles went cold shooting the ball and Rochester was able to capitalize. Sophomore
Jacob Wittig led the run with five of his 14 points while
Mack Montague and
Sam Borst-Smith each added three points in the spurt.
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The Eagles then found their shooting touch, late in the first half, making four straight buckets, including two 3-pointers to trim the UR lead to six with 4:39 to play in the half after an 11-0 run. Adam Gigax scored the first eight points in the run, while Austin DaGue finished it off with an old-fashioned three-point play.
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Wittig tied a season high with 14 points.
Borst-Smith displayed some nifty passing late in the half, helping Rochester regain its double-digit lead heading into halftime. On back-to-back-possessions, the senior found
Tucker Knox for a 3-pointer and then Wittig for a layup on a fast break for five quick points. At halftime, Rochester led by 15, up 46-31.
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Out of the locker room for the second half, it was another fast start for the home team, as Rochester scored 12 of the first 15 points, building its lead up to 24. UR was 5-7 from the floor in that span, compared to another 1-8 stretch for the Eagles. Overall in the contest, the Yellowjackets shot 48% (29-61) compared to just 31% (15-48) for Emory.
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After trailing by 24, Emory tried to chip away at the lead, scoring 10 of the next 13 points. But Rochester was able to stop that run it its tracks, scoring the next nine, capped by a Montague trey, his third of the game off another assist from Borst-Smith.
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Four players lifted Rochester with double-digit scoring performances, including Montague who finished with a game high 19 points. Borst-Smith had a great all-around performance with 18 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals while
Zack Ayers had 15 points and six rebounds. Wittig finished with 14 points and four rebounds.
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Emory's Gigax led the Eagles with 14 points and five rebounds while Jim Gordon had 12 points, including three 3-pointers.
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Rochester will look to stay perfect on the season when they next play host to the University of Chicago, next Friday at 8 pm in the Palestra.