GENEVA, NY – Though the Yellowjackets twice had a chance to pull out the victory, the University of Rochester men's basketball dropped a heartbreaker to the Hobart College Statesmen, 73-72, on Tuesday at Bristol Gymnasium.
 
Down one with less than a minute to play, Matt Niemczura stole the Statesmen's inbound pass and found Ross Gang, who knocked down a layup and drew a foul, giving UR a 72-71 lead with 30 seconds to play.
 
But on the ensuing Hobart possession, Jackson Meshanic's tip-in layup gave the Statesmen a 73-72 lead they'd never relinquish, as Gang's late triple fell short and the 'Jackets weren't able to get off a shot with 0.5 seconds left, giving Hobart the victory.
 
Carter Meshanic got things started for the Statesmen in the opening period, going 1-for-2 at the free-throw line to give Hobart an early lead. The Statesmen would lead by as many as seven in the early going, before five-straight points from T.C. Price cut Hobart's lead to two, 13-11, with 14:27 left in the first half.
 
And after the Statesmen brought their lead back out to five, the 'Jackets responded with a run, outscoring Hobart 19-6 over the next seven minutes to take a 30-22 lead with 5:19 remaining in the first.
 
Five points from Ryan Algier and five more from Gang keyed the 'Jackets' run, as Rochester converted 6-of-9 field goals and shot 6-for-7 from the free throw line.
 
But the Statesmen would respond with a run of their own, outscoring Rochester, 13-5 over the final five minutes of the first half to even the score at 35-all headed into the locker room.
 
Hobart then retook the lead to start the second on Aidan Rogers' jumper and led for much of the final frame. Gang's jumper with 16:01 left brought UR within a point, 45-44, but Hunter Meshanic knocked down a three on the other end to keep the Statesmen out in front.
 
Niemczura then knocked down a three, and a Matt Wiele jumper pulled Rochester within a point, but Rogers sank a triple on the next possession to give Hobart a 53-49 lead.
 
Wiele and Logan Jagodzinski then combined to give the Yellowjackets their first lead of the second half, with Jagodzinski's fast-break dunk capping off a 6-0 run to make it a 55-53 UR lead with 10:37 to play.
 
But again, with Evan Goldberg's and-on and a free throw from David Corrales Marco, Hobart retook a one-possession lead, 59-57, with 7:55 to play.
 
Down the stretch, the Yellowjackets and Statesmen stood tied at 59-59, 61-61 and 63-all following a pair of Niemczura free throws, but Rochester would go cold over the next two minutes, as the Statesmen took a 69-63 lead.
 
Over the next 1:45, Hobart outscored Rochester, 6-0, pulling ahead by six with 4:28 to play. Two Mitchell Kershner free throws brought the deficit down to four, while Algier's layup with 2:43 to play made it a one-possession, 70-67, game.
 
Carter Meshanic went 1-for-2 at the line with 1:56 to play to keep the game within reach, before Gang, after missing a three-pointer, followed his miss with an offensive board and drew the foul, hitting both free throws to make it a two-point, 71-69 Hobart lead with less than a minute to play.
 
Out of a timeout then, Hobart turned it over on the ensuing inbound and Gang converted his three-point play, giving Rochester a 72-71 lead, but they weren't able to hold it as Jackson Meshanic scored his last of his game-high 24 points on the other end to eventually give Hobart the victory.
 
Down by one, Algier turned it over, but the Yellowjackets got it right back, stealing the inbounds pass with eight seconds to play, but Gang missed what would've been a game-winning three, while UR wasn't able to get a shot off with 0.5 seconds left, sealing the victory for the Statesmen.
 
Rochester takes their first loss of the year, dropping to 5-1, while Hobart moves to 4-2 on the year.
 
In what was an incredibly, back-and-forth affair, the game featured nine ties and eight lead changes, the last of which came on Meshanic's game-winner with 12 seconds left.
 
Algier and Gang each tallied a team-high 17 points for Rochester, while Gang notched a team-high seven rebounds. Kershner led UR in the assist category with three, while six different Yellowjackets recorded a block or steal.
 
Rochester shot 46.6 percent from the floor, but couldn't find their range from three all night, shooting just 4-for-23 (17.4%) from beyond the arc.
 
Hobart shot just a bit better at 50.8 percent, while both teams had trouble at the free throw line, with UR shooting 70 percent, and the Statesmen at 47.6 percent.
 
Following the Thanksgiving Break, Rochester will look to bounce back when they host Bowdoin College as part of the UAA/NESCAC Challenge on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 3 p.m. inside the Louis Alexander Palestra.