The University of Rochester men's basketball team earned a five-point win to open its 2025-26 season, defeating SUNY Cortland 74-69 on Friday evening at the Louis Alexander Palestra.
 
Friday night's affair was the season-opener for both squads, with neither team gaining a lead bigger then seven points all night. Overall, there were 13 ties and seven lead changes throughout the 40 minutes.
 
Seniors Corvin Oprea and Tomiwa Adetosoye led the Yellowjackets (1-0), scoring 20 points each as the lone URochester players in double-figures. Justin Odibo had nine points, while transfer players Sam Henderson and John Mayhew each finished with seven points and five rebounds.
 
SUNY Cortland (0-1), the defending SUNYAC conference champions, were led by three players in double-digits. Joel Davis finished with a double-double to start the year, scoring 19 points while grabbing 12 rebounds. Xavier Leveille scored 17 points and had eight rebounds while Aaron Coston finished with ten points and seven boards.
 
In the opening half, the Yellowjackets jumped out to an early 5-1 lead following a triple from Oprea and a Adetosoye turn-around jumper in the lane two minutes in.
 
After that, the game remained within three points until a pair of Leveille free throws put the Red Dragons up four, 25-21, with 4:28 left in the half.
 
Rochester scored seven of the next nine points though, regaining the lead after an old-fashioned 3-point play by Theo Murray, moving the score to 28-27 Yellowjackets.
 
A Davis jump shot just before intermission gave Cortland a 31-30 halftime lead.
 
Cortland's first two possessions in the second half ended in points, with Coston securing a layup and Isaiah Austin sinking a 3-pointer from the right wing, giving the Red Dragons their largest lead of the game, up six, 36-30.
 
The Yellowjackets answered with a 10-2 run though, re-taking the lead on an Oprea three with 15:58 left in the game. Oprea and Mayhew each scored four points in the run, while Odibo added a pull-up jumper.
 
For the better part of the next ten minutes, the game stayed within four points until Odibo scored five straight points to put the Yellowjackets up six. After a Cortland free throw at the other end, Henderson sank two free throws to give URochester its biggest lead of the contest, sitting up 66-59, with just 4:12 left.
 
The Red Dragons refused to give up, embarking on a 7-1 spurt to get back within one, trailing 67-66 after Kendrick Wilson made 1-of-2 free throws with under three to play.
 
On the ensuing inbounds, Cortland forced a turnover, but Leveille's potential go-ahead 3-pointer rattled out, with Mayhew securing the rebound.
 
Rochester took a timeout at the other end and drew up a play for Adetosoye to get a driving layup, boosting the lead back to three with 1:47 on the clock. The and-one free throw attempt was missed though, giving Cortland a chance to tie.
 
On Cortland's next possession, Adetosoye secured a steal, but a fast break layup and tip-in follow was missed, again giving the Red Dragons a chance to potentially knot the score up.
 
Austin did just that, hitting a right-wing triple to even the score up at 69-all.
 
UR quickly regained the lead though, as Adetosoye was fouled on a drive to the basket, sinking both free throws to put Rochester back on top by two.
 
Cortland's next possession was an empty trip, as first-year Jordan Owusu intercepted a pass for a steal. The ball ended up in Henderson's hands who was fouled and boosted the lead to three after he made just 1-of-2 from the free throw line.
 
Austin looked to tie for the Red Dragons once again, but this time his shot was off the mark, with Henderson securing the rebound. The graduate transfer made 1-of-2 at the line again to put the Yellowjackets ahead by a comfortable four-point margin.
 
On the second free throw that was missed, Mayhew secured a huge offensive rebound and followed by also splitting a pair of free throws to reach the final margin of 74-69.
 
Rochester's win in the season-opening game snaps a two-game losing streak in those contests the last two years, and extends the Yellowjackets lead in the all-time series over SUNY Cortland to 7-1.
 
Up next, the Yellowjackets host the annual Chuck Resler Invitational at the Palestra next Friday and Saturday.
 
URochester plays against Buffalo State at 6 pm in Friday's opening round, with the other two men's teams in the event being Springfield and Utica, with that matchup tipping at 1 pm. The tournament concludes on Saturday with consolation and championship games at 1 pm and 6 pm.