In a game that featured 14 ties and 13 lead changes, the University of Rochester men's basketball came up just short against the Case Western Reserve University Spartans, falling by the final score of 87-84 on Friday evening inside the Louis Alexander Palestra.
 
The Yellowjackets took their largest lead of the night, 67-61, on Bennett Kwiecinski's put-back with 7:16 to play, capping off a 10-2 Rochester run over a four-minute stretch. Five different 'Jackets scored over the four minutes, which started with Theo Murray's driving layup to knot the score at 59-all with 11:02 left in the second half.
 
However, just as CWRU went cold for a four-minute stretch, shooting 1-for-6 from the field, so did the Yellowjackets over the next five minutes. Umar Rashid answered Kwiecinski's put-back with a layup on the other end, while just shy of a minute later, Andy Barba knotted the score at 67-all.
 
Sam Trunley then gave the Spartans a 70-67 lead with his lone three-pointer of the night, before Christian McDaniel capped off an 11-0 Case Western Reserve run with a layup to make it a five-point Spartans' advantage with 5:26 remaining.
 
And while Corvin Oprea got the Yellowjackets back on the scoreboard and back within a possession, 72-69, Trunley answered on the other end, sinking a layup and drawing a foul, completing the three-point play to extend CWRU's lead to six.
 
A Theo Murray pull-up jumper brought the 'Jackets back within four, but another empty possession, sandwiched in between buckets from Rashid and Trunley, gave the Spartans their largest lead of the night, 79-71, with just over two minutes to play.
 
Out of a CWRU timeout, Tomiwa Adetosoye knocked down two free throws, while a turnover as tip-in by Savvas Gonatas once again made it a four-point game, 79-75, with 1:33 to play, but Trunley went back to the line and knocked them both down, bringing the Spartans' lead back up to six.
 
On UR's ensuing possession, Gonatas found Sock for a layup and a foul, once again making it a one-possession game, 81-78, after Sock sank the free throw with 1:03 left. With the shot clock expiring on the other end though, Trunley again came up clutch, sinking a layup to make it an 83-78 CWRU lead with 34 seconds left.
 
Looking for a quick shot, Adetosoye was blocked at the rim, but UR twice got the offensive rebound before Gonatas cashed a huge triple from the top of the arc, cutting the deficit to just two with 18 seconds to play.
 
Rochester then sent Barba to the line, where the graduate student knocked them both down, and after a missed Sock three, Trunley iced the game with two more at the line, before Adetosoye's three-pointer at the buzzer cut the final deficit to three.
 
Neither side led by more than eight throughout the contest, as Rochester and Case Western Reserve traded barbs throughout the contest. After Adetosoye broke the seal and scored four of UR's first eight points, the Spartans built an early six-point lead with a 5-0 run, before the 'Jackets made their way back with help from five-straight points from Ethan McEachern.
 
Trailing 18-15 after Trunley's layup with 9:07 left in the first, free throws from Oprea and Murray gave Rochester its first lead since the 17:10 mark, but the Spartans quickly retook the lead on McDaniel's three-point play less than 30 seconds later.
 
Down by five after another Trunley bucket, UR again clawed their way back, with three-pointers from Sock and McEachern pulling the 'Jackets within one with just over four minutes until the halftime buzzer.
 
After Oprea answered Rashid's triple with a driving layup on the other end, tying the score at 34-all, the 'Jackets and Spartans went toe-to-toe down the stretch of the first half, combining for 20 points over the final 2:53 of the first.
 
Sock matched Drey Fox's layup with a dunk, while Matthew Ellis and Oprea knocked down three-pointers on back-to-back possessions. A floater from Kwiecinski gave UR a one-point advantage with 1:37 to play, while Sock made it a three-point game after CWRU came up empty on its ensuing possession.
 
Fox quickly tied it with another three though, before Adetosoye's driving layup proved to be the final bucket of the first half, sending the Yellowjackets into the locker room with a two-point, 45-43 lead.
 
With the loss, UR's ninth-straight, the 'Jackets fall to 6-11 (0-6 UAA) on the year, while the Spartans move to 6-11 (2-4 UAA) with the win.
 
Adetosoye led the Yellowjackets with 21 points, stuffing the stat sheet with six rebounds, four steals and two assists. Sock and McEachern joined the junior in double figures with 13 and 12 points apiece, while Kwiecinski led UR on the glass with 13 rebounds, falling a point shy of a double-double.
 
For CWRU, Trunley equaled Adetosoye's output with 24 points, while Barba and Rashid each tallied 15.
 
As a team, the Yellowjackets shot 43.5 percent (30-for-69) and 8-for-21 from three but just 16-for-27 from the free-throw line, while the Spartans shot 44.1 percent (30-for-68), 7-for-21 from three and 20-for-24 from the free-throw line.
 
Rochester will wrap up their weekend with a matchup against Carnegie Mellon on Sunday, Feb. 2 at 2:00 p.m. inside the Louis Alexander Palestra.