ATLANTA, GA – The University of Rochester men's basketball team dropped its second straight game to end the regular season, falling 63-62 to Emory University on Saturday afternoon at the Woodruff P.E. Center.
 
10th-ranked Rochester (21-4, 10-4 UAA) had a shot to win the game at the buzzer, but a Jacob Wittig 3-pointer from the corner rattled out, giving the host Eagles (18-7, 9-5 UAA) the victory.
 
The Yellowjackets started out the game slow, scoring just nine points over the opening 12 minutes of the game.  UR was also plagued by turnovers throughout, giving the ball away a total of 20 times, matching a season high.
 
But UR was able to fight through the adversity, closing the first half strong, eventually taking a one-point lead into halftime following a 17-8 run to close the period.  In the opening 20 minutes, Rochester would trail by as many as nine points.
 
In the second half, senior Sam Borst-Smith was the Yellowjackets best player, scoring 14 of his game-high 22 points, 12 of which were among UR's final 16 points.
 
With 8:49 to play, Borst-Smith made a 3-pointer, one of three on the day to give the Yellowjackets a six-point lead at 54-48.
 
Emory would score the next five points, all by Austin Dague to pull within one, before Borst-Smith edged UR back up by three, 56-53, with 5:52 on the clock.
 
The Eagles Whit Rapp then got a layup, which was answered by two Borst-Smith free throws to maintain Rochester's three-point advantage.  That was followed by Emory scoring five straight again, to pull ahead 60-58 with under three minutes remaining.
 
Two more Borst-Smith free throws evened the score at 60-all with under two to play.  Rapp then drained a triple to give Emory a three-point lead.
 
With just under one minute to play, the Eagles were whistled for a goaltending call on an Andrew Lunstrom layup, allowing Rochester within one, down 62-63.
 
Ultimately, neither team would score the rest of the way.  EU's Jim Gordon missed a trey from the top of the key, giving UR the stop it needed.  After a missed Borst-Smith jumper from the foul line, UR battled to get the offensive board.  With nine seconds on the clock, Rochester drew up an inbounds play to Lundstrom, but his layup was turned away inside by Adam Gigax, giving Emory the ball back.
 
Dague was fouled and missed two free throws allowing UR a potential game-winning shot, one that was off the mark, sending the Yellowjackets to their second straight defeat.
 
Besides the 22 points, Borst-Smith had nine rebounds, and two steals.  The two steals give him 205 for his career and move him into 1st place all-time in Rochester history, passing Terry Fitzgerald for most all-time.
 
Lundstrom was Rochester's second leading scoring, with nine points and seven boards off the bench while Tucker Knox had eight points, six rebounds and three blocks.  Wittig ha seven points while Mack Montague and Zack Ayers had six points each.
 
Emory's Dague saved his best performance for senior day, as the Eagle senior finished with a career-high 22 points, including going 7-10 from the floor.  Gordon had 13 points, most of which came in the first half while Gebereal Baitey added 10 points off the bench for the Eagles.
 
Rochester held the rebounding edge on Saturday, pulling down 44 rebounds to Emory's 38, including 17 on the offensive glass.  Neither team shot particularly well, with UR at 35% (22-63) and Emory at 36% (22-61).
 
UR will now await its NCAA Tournament fate, as the Division III Tournament field will be set on Monday.