The University of Rochester men's basketball team began its 2024-25 season on a sour note, falling by three to visiting Muskingum University, 79-76, during the UR Chuck Resler Invitational on Friday evening at the Louis Alexander Palestra.
 
Friday night's game was a thrilling back-and-forth affair, particularly in the final ten minutes, with neither team leading by more than four in that span. Overall in the game, there were six ties and 13 lead changes, with Muskingum earning the final lead change on a 3-pointer from Owen Emig in the final minute of regulation.
 
UR (0-1) got a Logan Jagodzinski layup to pull within one with 24 seconds remaining and then the defense earned a stop, getting a tie-up along the sideline, but a missed opportunity at the basket gave Muskingum a chance to extend the lead with two Nathan Walker free throws.
 
With just 0.9 seconds left, Rochester's inbounds pass was deflected away, allowing the Fighting Muskies to swipe the victory and spot in the Chuck Resler Tournament Championship game on Saturday. Muskingum takes on Oswego State in the title game and 8 pm, while Rochester squares off with Muhlenberg College for third place at 3 pm.
 
Jagodzinski finished as Rochester's leading scorer with 18 points. Graduate student Nate Sock scored 15 points off the bench, including making 7-of-8 free throws, while Corvin Oprea scored 14 points. Tomiwa Adetosoye had a nice all-around effort, finishing with 7 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Malachi Moore also ended with seven points for Rochester.
 
Muskingum's Duane Davis and Emig finished with 43 combined points, with Davis leading all players with 23 points. Emig was efficient, ending with 20 points on 7-of-11 overall shooting, including making 5-of-6 from 3-point range. Luken Hill chipped in a double-double for the Fighting Muskies, finishing with 12 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists.
 
Overall, Muskingum shot well from distance, making 13-of-26 shots (50%) from behind the arc.
 
Rochester started out strong on its opening possession, with Oprea finding a cutting Jagodzinski for an emphatic season-starting slam dunk, adding an and-one following a foul. Hill answered right away for the Fighting Muskies, draining a triple to knot the game and 3-3.
 
A three from Moore built UR's early lead to six less than four minutes into the game, and Ethan McEachern and Bennett Kwiecinski each made baskets a few minutes later to boost the 'Jacket lead to eight, up 19-11.
 
Muskingum used its 3-point shooting to quickly get back in the game, making four treys in a 14-5 run over four and a half minutes. The final triple, by Walker, gave the Fighting Muskies a 25-24 lead with 7:31 left in the half.
 
UR answered, scoring 12 of the next 14 points to build its largest lead of the game, sitting up nine at 36-27, following a Jagodzinski pull-up jumper. Adetosoye also ignited the Palestra crowd with a steal and slam dunk in the run.
 
The Fighting Muskies closed the half strong though, eventually trimming the UR lead to just one at intermission. Davis beat the buzzer with a layup to make the score 37-36 Rochester as the teams headed to the locker rooms.
 
After Walker hit a jumper and Emig drained another triple to start the second half, Muskingum's run extended to 14-1 spanning the first and second halves. That moved the score to 41-37 in the visitors favor before Oprea hit a layup and two Sock free throws made the score tied up once again.
 
A few minutes later, Terrell Darden hit his lone basket of the day, a 3-pointer, to put Muskingum up by four and Hill added a free throw to make the Fighting Muskie lead five, a game-high.
 
Sock and Oprea combined to score all nine points in a 9-2 spurt by Rochester to regain the lead with 12:25 left in the game.
 
Later on, with Muskingum up by three, the UR duo hit back-to-back triple's to pull Rochester in front by three as the clock ticked under five.
 
Emig answered with a long ball and Hill fought for a driving layup inside to regain a two-point cushion. A pair of free throws, one each by Oprea and Jagodzinski made the scored tied at 74 before Emig's game-deciding 3-pointer swished through with just 46 seconds left on the clock.