University of Rochester men's basketball suffered just their second home loss of the year, falling to the New York University Violets, 66-52, on Sunday at the Louis Alexander Palestra.
 
The 'Jackets shot just 29.5 percent from the field, 25.9 percent (7-for-27) from three, and 47.4 percent (9-for-19) from the free throw line, as shooting woes plagued Rochester throughout the contest.
 
After Ryan Algier got the Yellowjackets on the scoreboard, cutting NYU's lead to 3-1 with 19:02 to play in the first, UR missed its next six shots, as the Violets used a 7-0 run to open up a 10-1 lead with 15:46 left in the first.
 
Mitchell Kershner ended the nearly three-minute scoreless stretch, knocking down his first of a team-high three made three-pointers, cutting NYU's lead down to six before C.J. Amsellem sank another, and Ross Gang got on the scoreboard with a driving layup, bringing the 'Jackets within one, 10-9, with 13:07 left in the half.
 
But then another scoreless stretch plagued the Yellowjackets, this one more than five minutes, and the Violets again took advantage, opening up an eight-point, 17-9 lead on Michael Savarino's layup with just under eight minutes till the halftime buzzer.
 
Gang got things going for UR at the 7:39 mark, with back-to-back layups to pull the 'Jackets within six. But Zay Freeney and Quinn Clark answered with two of their own, before another 7-0 run, this one over 2:06, extended NYU's lead out to 15 on Spencer Freedman's pull-up jumper with 2:55 to play in the first.
 
The Violets led by as many as 17 down the stretch of the first half, 35-18, before Kershner and Matt Wiele pulled Rochester back within 12 on a triple and driving layup with 16 seconds left. But Freedman beat the buzzer with a long-range three-pointer over UR's contest, putting NYU back up 15 at the break.
 
NYU then scored the first five points of the second half, extending their lead out to its largest of the afternoon, 42-23, with 18:59 to play, before the 'Jackets slowly made their way back.
 
Logan Jagodzinski broke the second-half seal with his layup with 18:44 left, while Gang's three-pointer made it a 16-point NYU lead just under two minutes into the second half.
 
T.C. Price added another three, bringing UR within 15, but Freedman had an answer on the other end, keeping the Violets' lead at 17 with 16:17 to play.
 
Down 17, UR made its run, holding the Violets scoreless for nearly five minutes to pull within five. Three-straight layups by Dan Masino, Gang and Kershner brought the lead down to 11, before another Amsellem triple made it a nine-point game with 12:26 remaining.
 
Masino then went 1-for-2 at the line to cut the deficit to seven, before Algier found the bottom for the first time off Jagodzinski's assist to make it 49-44, in favor of the Violets, with 11:17 to play.
 
But another cold stretch plagued UR, as both the 'Jackets and Violets couldn't buy a bucket for nearly three minutes. Freedman snapped NYU out of it with two driving layups with 8:42 and 7:32 left, but three free throws from Amsellem and Kershner's third three again made it a five-point game, 55-50, with five minutes left.
 
But once again, the 'Jackets fell cold and would score just one field goal the rest of the way. Down five, UR missed three layups and drew an offensive foul, before NYU once again got going, finishing the second half on an 11-2 run to seal the victory.
 
Quinn Clark's layup with 3:14 left made it a seven-point game, and after another miss, Freedman went 1-for-2 at the stripe to make it an eight-point game.
 
The 'Jacket shot just 1-for-9 and 0-for-5 from three over the game's final 3:21, while NYU went 9-for-11 from the free-throw line to seal the 66-52 victory.
 
Rochester falls to 16-8 (6-7 UAA) with the loss, while NYU moves to 17-7 (6-7 UAA) with the win.
 
Gang led the 'Jackets with 12 points, while Kershner tallied 11 off the bench. Algier tallied a team-high eight rebounds, while Gang, Jagodzinski and Wiele each recorded two assists.
 
The 'Jackets shot just 29.5 from the field, their lowest shooting performance this season, while the Violets shot 42.3 percent, and 43.8 percent (7-for-18) from three.
 
Rochester will next wrap up the regular with their Senior Day contest against Emory University on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 2 p.m., searching for one final win to bolster their resume before the NCAA Tournament.