CLEVELAND, OH – In nearly an identical score from the earlier meeting this season, host Case Western Reserve earned late season win, 88-87 in overtime over the University of Rochester at Horsburgh Gymnasium in UAA men's basketball action.
 
One month ago in Rochester, the Yellowjackets pulled out an 88-86 win over the Spartans in UR's Palestra.
 
On Friday, Rochester (15-8, 6-6 UAA) got off to a quick start, leading by ten just five minutes into the game.  UR was hot with 3-point plays in the early going, with Kailan Lee hitting two from long range, while Trent Noordsij added a triple.
 
Ryan Algier finished off the spurt with an old-fashioned 3-point play.  The junior had a big game inside, recording a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, also chipping in 4 assists and 3 blocks.
 
Twelve minutes into the game, T.C. Price hit a jumper off an Algier dish and screen to double-up the host Spartans, putting Rochester up 26-13.
 
At intermission, Rochester held an eight-point advantage, leading 39-31. The first half saw the Yellowjackets record eight offensive rebounds and 12 second chance points which was the difference in the opening 20 minutes.
 
The second half started red-hot for the Spartans (12-11, 5-7 UAA) as the hosts drained three straight 3-pointers, two by Sam Hansen and one by Monty Khela to trim the Yellowjacket lead to just three.
 
A pick-and-roll layup from Michael Hollis then pulled Case Western Reserve even at 44-all with just under 18 minutes left in the game.  Khela followed by draining a long three a minute later to pull the home team ahead for the first time since CWRU was up 2-0.
 
Rochester's Noordsij drained two free throws and Brian Amabilino Perez added a layup to put the visitors back up by three, but the Spartans responded with an and-one by Cole Frilling to pull even once again.
 
After trailing 52-50, UR embarked on an 11-2 spurt to regain a seven-point advantage with under seven minutes on the clock.  Price hit a 3-pointer to start the run, while Ross Gang hit back-to-back layups at the tail end to make the score 61-54.  Gang finished as Rochester's leading scorer with 21 points.
 
The Spartans refused to go away, trimming the UR lead to two, but a wide-open Gang hit a big three with 2:45 left to put Rochester up 72-67.
 

A 7-0 run in the final two minutes edged CWRU ahead 76-75 following a Robert Faller dribble-drive bucket, but Gang responded at UR's end with two clutch free throws to regain the lead with just 24 seconds left.
 
The final seconds of regulation saw the Spartans get two key offensive rebounds ending with Frilling at the free throw line with two shots to potentially win the game.  The first clanged off the front rim, but the second swished through to tie the game, sending the game to overtime.
 
Two layups in close, one each by Patrick Benka and Lee, pulled Rochester ahead by four in the first two minutes of the extra session.
 
Down five, Frilling then scored five straight points for the Spartans to make the score 83-all with 90 seconds on the clock.  Frilling led all players with 24 points on the night, adding nine boards.
 
Noordsij sank a free throw at Rochester's end, but Khela hit a clutch jumper to put Case Western Reserve up by one.  Khela finished with a season high 20 points in the victory.
 
The Yellowjackets then got two big offensive rebounds to keep their possession alive, but two missed free throws gave the Spartans the ball back with Faller getting sent to the line for two free throws himself.
 
Faller hit one of two, but Lee's three-point attempt with two seconds left missed and the Spartans secured the rebound and hit two more free throws to seal the win despite Algier sinking a half-court heave at the buzzer to reach the final one-point margin.
 
Rochester as a team shot 50% (31-62) from the field and made six 3-pointers, but Case Western Reserve was right there as well, shooting 46% (31-68) overall and sank 10 triples.  UR dominated inside, outscoring the Spartans 44-26 in the paint.
 
UR is back in action on Sunday, traveling to Carnegie Mellon University for a noon tipoff.