The Rochester men's basketball team couldn't hold on in the second half in a 76-66 loss against Washington University on Friday night at the Wash U Fieldhouse.

The Yellowjackets drop to 12-5, 3-3 UAA on the season, while conference leading Washington University improves to 15-2, 6-0 UAA. 

An immediate 10-2 run by the Yellowjackets started them on the right foot, as Patrick Benka was responsible for five points to open the game. He finished the evening with a team-high 21 points. 

With 8:46 remaining in the first half, Washington University managed to tie the game at 21-21 apiece. 

Both sides continued to exchange the lead four times before the end of the half. At intermission, the Yellowjackets trailed by a score of 37-35. 

From the start of the second half, neither team took an advantage of more than seven points until there was less than a minute left.

Six points in the opening seven minutes from Ryan Algier assisted Rochester in taking a slight lead with 13 minutes left to play. Algier ended the game with nine points, eight rebounds, and two assists. 

Washington University managed to close the game on a 14-4 run in order to secure the win for themselves. 

Rochester finished 27-of-56 from the field (48.2%), 7-of-18 from beyond the arc (38.9%), and 5-of-10 (50%) from the charity stripe. In addition, the team added 31 rebounds and 15 assists. 

Next up, the Yellowjackets remain on the road against University of Chicago on Sunday at 11:30am (CT).