University of Rochester men's basketball fell to The College of Wooster Fighting Scots, 78-60, in their season opener on Friday evening inside the Louis Alexander Palestra.
 
With the loss, the Yellowjackets move on to the Chuck Resler Tournament Consolation Final, where they'll face Maryville College on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 1:00 p.m.
 
C.J. Amsellem got the scoring started for UR with a three from the top of the arc, assisted by Mitchell Kershner on the 'Jackets first possession 53 seconds into the first. After Wooster scored its first basket, Amsellem would tack on another score, making it a 5-2 game with 18:14 to play in the first.
 
The two sides would trade buckets early on before a nearly three-minute scoring drought-plagued both sides following Tomiwa Adetosoye's jumper with 16:59 to play. A little over two minutes later, Jamir Billings broke through with a three, and though Corvin Oprea would answer with a jumper, the Fighting Scots took a lead they'd never relinquish on Billing's ensuing three-pointer.
 
Billings' back-to-back triples put Wooster up 12-9, and buckets from Jaiden Holloway-Cox and Ashton Price extended Wooster's lead to five, 16-11, with 10:59 left in the first.
 
The 'Jackets would keep things close throughout the first half before back-to-back threes from Cox-Holloway and Billings gave the Fighting Scots their largest lead of the first half, 29-18 with exactly five minutes until the halftime break.
 
With less than two minutes left, UR made a run, pulling within seven on five made free throws over a minute, before a fastbreak dunk from Matt Niemczura sent UR into the locker room down just five, 36-31.
 
Rochester would further cut into the Fighting Scots' lead coming out of the locker room, with Amsellem's layup and a jumper from Matt Wiele cutting the deficit to just three, 38-35, with 18:14 left.
 
Nick Everett answered on the other end for Wooster with a layup, before Logan Jagodzinski sank another jumper to pull UR back within three, 40-37, but the 'Jackets would go silent for nearly seven minutes, as the Fighting Scots opened their largest lead of the night with a massive, 17-0 run.
 
Up 40-37, the Fighting Scots held UR without a bucket for 6:04, as Wooster shot 5-for-9 from the field while holding Rochester 0-for-10 from the field. The Fighting Scots turned a three-point, 40-37 lead into a 20-point, 57-37 lead with the run, with Everett and Price combining for 14 of Wooster's 17 points over the six-minute stretch.
 
Adetosoye slowed Wooster's run with a triple with 9:38 remaining, and UR would answer with a run of their own, cutting the deficit to just 12, with two more from Adetosoye, as well as Jagodzinski's and-one.
 
However, the Fighting Scots would prevent UR from getting any closer, as Billings sank another triple to put Wooster back up 15, and the Fighting Scots matched the Yellowjackets' buckets over the next two minutes.
 
With 2:20 left, UR would again make it a 12-point game, but the Fighting Scots sank their free throws down the stretch, going 6-for-8 at the free-throw line over the final two minutes to finish off the 78-60 victory.
 
Wooster advances to the Chuck Resler Tournament Final with the win, where they'll face Rowan at 6:00 p.m., while the 'Jackets will face the Maryville Scots in the consolation final at 1:00 p.m.
 
Adetosoye, getting his first career start, led Rochester with 17 points, while Jagodzinski chipped in 12 and Oprea scored 10. Jagodzinski also led UR on the glass with seven boards, adding two steals in a team-high 29 minutes.
 
For Wooster, Everett scored a game-high 25 points, as the Fighting Scots shot 50.0 percent from both the floor and three, with Rochester shooting just 36.2 percent overall, and 21.1 percent from beyond the arc.
 
The Yellowjackets will look to bounce back when they host Maryville (TN) in the Resler Tournament Consolation Final on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 1:00 p.m. inside the Palestra.