NEW YORK, NY – Despite trailing by just five at the break, the University of Rochester men's basketball fell to the 4th-ranked New York University Violets, 79-54, on Sunday afternoon at the John A. Paulson Center to fall to 6-8 (0-3 UAA) on the year.
 
The Violets scored the first eight points of the contest before Logan Jagodzinski finally broke the seal for the Yellowjackets with a three-pointer just over four minutes into the first half. Another three-pointer, this one from Bernard Dushie Jr., pulled UR within two just shy of a minute later, as the 'Jackets offense began to hum into gear midway through the first.
 
Five-straight from Brock Susko once again made it an eight-point NYU advantage, 13-6 with 12:43 left in the first, but the Yellowjackets quickly cut the deficit back to five on David Ackles' layup on their ensuing possession and pulled within three just past the 10-minute mark on Theo Murray's layup.
 
Back-to-back triples from the home side put NYU back up seven, but Rochester kept things close for much of the first half, as the Yellowjackets kept the Violets off the scoreboard for almost two minutes, while Bennett Kwiecinski and Corvin Oprea sank layups at the other end to make it a five-point game with 6:53 remaining in the half.
 
Oprea then got going down the stretch of the first half, combining with Dushie to score all 15 of UR's points over the final 6:53 of the half. The junior hit his first three and then answered Zay Feeney's layup with the second of three-made triples on the offensive end, pulling Rochester within two, 24-22.
 
Josh Menard then answered Oprea's three with one of his own on the other end, while Bryan Moussako cashed in another trey for the Violets to make it a 30-24 NYU lead with 3:23 until the halftime buzzer.
 
But Oprea hit another from long-range with just over three minutes left, and after Dushie sank another jumper, UR trailed by three, 32-29, with just 42 ticks left. However, Hampton Sanders beat the buzzer for the Violets to send No. 4 NYU into the locker room up five, 34-29, and the Violets would build on that momentum in the second, quickly opening a double-digit advantage.
 
NYU stretched its lead to 12, 41-29, with seven-straight points to start the second half, holding UR scoreless again for the first four minutes of the half till Oprea finally got Rochester back on the scoreboard with his layup with 16:03 to play.
 
Rochester opened the second half 0-for-6 from the field until Oprea broke the seal, while the Violets started to find their rhythm and went on another run. After opening the second half on a 7-0 run, NYU outscored UR, 15-4 over the next four minutes and change, shooting 7-for-10 from the field, while UR hit just 2-of-5 and turned it over twice.
 
In total, the Violets outscored Rochester, 22-6, over the first 7:48 of the second half, turning a five-point halftime deficit into a 19-point second-half lead. No. 4 NYU led by as many as 30 in the second half as they shot 51.4 percent from the field, nearly doubling up Rochester in the half, 45-25.
 
The 'Jackets shot just 27.6 percent (8-for-29) in the second period, and NYU pulled away with a big second half, eventually finishing off the 79-54 victory to move to 13-1 (2-1 UAA) on the year.
 
Oprea led the 'Jackets in scoring with 15 points, while Dushie Jr. notched his first-career double-double with 14 points and a team-high 11 rebounds.
 
For NYU, Tristan How led all scorers with 17 points, while Susko joined the graduate student in double figures with 13.
 
Rochester next returns home to the friendly confines of the Louis Alexander Palestra, looking to snap their six-game losing streak when they host No. 11 WashU in their conference, home-opener on Friday, Jan. 24 at 5:30 p.m.