BRUNSWICK, ME – University of Rochester men's basketball opened the 2025 University Athletic Association (UAA) Challenge with a 79-77 comeback win over the Middlebury College Panthers on Saturday afternoon inside Bowdoin College's Morrell Gymnasium.
 
A nearly three-minute scoreless stretch late in the first half saw the Yellowjackets trail the Panthers, 43-33, at the halftime break. But URochester would claw its way back in the second half, holding Middlebury to just two made field goals over 8:44 to take the lead.
 
Down by 10, Justin Odibo opened the second half scoring with a steal and a score, cutting the Panthers' lead down to single digits. And while Edward Witherington's three-pointer two minutes later stretched Middlebury's lead back out to 10, 49-39, with 17:41 to play, John Mayhew answered on the other end with a three-point play to bring the 'Jackets within seven.
 
Middlebury retook a double-digit lead on Sawyer Ramey's layup just past the 15-and-a-half-minute mark of the second, but Rochester would answer back with the first of three-straight layups by Tomiwa Adetosoye on the other end, jumpstarting a 23-6 Rochester run.
 
The Yellowjackets turned up the defensive pressure, forcing eight Middlebury turnovers over the 8:44 stretch and holding the Panthers to just 2-for-10 shooting from the floor. Three-straight layups by Adetosoye brought Rochester within five, and after Kuba Cwalina knocked down a triple out of a Middlebury timeout at the 12:58 mark, Jordan Owusu scored four in a row to make it a four-point game, 59-55, with 12:04 to play.
 
Another bucket from Adetosoye, this one off a steal from Odibo and one of 16 second-half points for the senior, made it a two-point game, but Cwalina hit another three to extend Middlebury's lead back to five, 62-57, just shy of the 11-minute mark.
 
The Yellowjackets, though, would hold Middlebury scoreless for the next 4:25, tying the game on Odibo's free throw with 9:15 left in the second half, and taking the lead on a triple by Corvin Oprea after the Panthers turned it over on their ensuing possession.
 
Rochester led 68-62 with 6:41 left following their extended, 23-6 run, but the Panthers would regroup out of a timeout and chip away at Rochester's lead. Four points from Dominick Ducree cut the 'Jackets' advantage to just two, and after a UR turnover, Cwalina missed a jumper with 4:05 left with a chance to tie.
 
Layups by Owusu and Sam Henderson extended URochester's lead back out to five, 75-70, with 3:14 left, and while the Panthers would pull back within a possession, the Yellowjackets got a clutch bucket from Oprea late and hit just enough of their free throws to finish off the comeback victory.
 
Up by just one after two free throws from Ducree, Oprea pushed the 'Jackets' lead out to three with 2:05 left. Both teams turned it over on their ensuing possessions while Cwalina missed a pair of threes.
 
Then, after Henry Morrison went 1-for-2 at the line with 16 seconds left, the Panthers were forced to foul. Henderson went 1-for-2 to give Rochester a three-point lead and a steal by Owusu then finished it off, with Owusu hitting 1-of-2 at the line as well before Evans Flaks scored at the buzzer to cut the final deficit down to two, 79-77.
 
The first half saw Rochester open an early lead, 16-9, with 13:20 left, after Theo Murray finished off a three-point play. However, a pair of cold stretches for the 'Jackets allowed Middlebury to surge ahead, as the Panthers took a 22-19 lead behind a 13-3 run with 10:06 until the half.
 
The Panthers' 9-0 run late in the first half then gave Middlebury its largest lead of the afternoon, 41-29, with 2:47 left until the halftime buzzer.
 
With the win, Rochester moves to 7-1 on the year, while Middlebury drops to 4-2.
 
Adetosoye turned in a tremendous, all-around performance to lead URochester, tallying 26 points on 10-for-16 shooting and adding a team-high eight rebounds, four steals and two blocks.
 
Owusu and Odibo joined Adetosoye in double figures, scoring 11 and 10 points apiece, while Cwalina had a team-high 15 for Middlebury.
 
As a team, Rochester shot 48.4 percent (31-for-64) from the field, while the Panthers shot 42.0 percent (29-for-69). The 'Jackets outscored Middlebury in the paint, 46-36, and scored 18 points off 14 Middlebury turnovers, including 15 in the second half.
 
The Yellowjackets wrap up their weekend in Brunswick, ME, on Sunday, Dec. 7, against host Bowdoin College at 1:30 p.m.