PITTSBURGH, PA – While they got off to a strong start, leading by as many as 11 in the first half, the University of Rochester men's basketball fell to the Carnegie Mellon Tartans, 72-69 on Sunday afternoon inside the Highmark Center.
 
The Yellowjackets scored the first nine points of the first half and led by as many as 11 in the opening sequence, 18-7, with 13:26 left in the first half following Ethan McEachern's second-straight triple. However, the Tartans would make their way back, cutting the deficit to just six points at the end of the first half, before taking the lead for the first time just over five minutes into the second.
 
Justin Allen's three-point play capped off a 9-0 Tartans' run, that saw the home side turn a 43-35 deficit into a one-point, 44-43 lead with just over 14 minutes to play. UR quickly retook the lead just under a minute later on Theo Murray's three-point basket, one of eight made triples on the afternoon for the 'Jackets.
 
Rochester extended its lead to four on Nate Sock's driving layup after a CMU turnover, but the Tartans quickly came back the other way to once again make it a two-point game, 48-46 with 12:50 left.
 
The Tartans would answer with a 10-2 run, started and capped off by a pair of buckets from Aidan Murphy, as UR came up empty on four possessions over the next four minutes, and CMU stretched its lead out to four, 54-50, just shy of the nine-minute mark of the second.
 
However, once again, Rochester quickly countered, this time on Sock's made three-pointer assisted by Bennett Kwiecinski to make it a one-point game, while Corvin Oprea matched Alex Hassanein's two-made free throws on the other end to keep the Yellowjackets within one.
 
Back-to-back three-pointers again gave the Tartans a two-possession lead, 62-57, with 5:33 left, but Murray cut the lead in half on Rochester's ensuing possession with a strong take to the bucket, drawing the foul and completing the three-point play to make it a three-point game.
 
After empty offensive trips for both sides, Allen took a missed jumper the other way for two, while Tomiwa Adetosoye knocked down two free throws to keep things tight. Then out of a timeout, UR forced a turnover and tied things up on Oprea's take to the rack, but Isaac Higgins helped CMU retake the lead just 10 seconds later with his layup.
 
Higgins was unable to complete the three-point play, but a turnover gave the ball right back to the Tartans, and Holmes scored another bucket to stretch the lead to four, 68-64, with 2:47 remaining.
 
Another layup from Adetosoye and Nolan Casey's 1-for-2 trip at the line kept things at just a one-possession game heading to the final two minutes, but the Yellowjackets missed a trio of threes down the stretch attempting to tie.
 
Forced to foul after a missed triple with 12 seconds left, Holmes went 1-for-2 at the line but then stole the inbounds pass and made it a six-point Carnegie Mellon lead, before Murray's buzzer-beating three cut the final deficit to 72-69.
 
The Yellowjackets got off to a hot start to open the contest, opening the tilt on a 12-2 run, and holding the Tartans scoreless for nearly the first four-and-a-half minutes.
 
Adetosoye, Logan Jagodzinski, Kwiecinski, Oprea and Sock all scored for UR over the run, as Rochester shot 7-for-16 and 4-for-9 from three over the game's first six minutes.
 
Following back-to-back McEachern threes, UR held its largest lead of the afternoon, 18-7, with 13:26 until the half, but the Tartans slowly made their way back, pulling within six on Allen's layup with 8:21 left in the half.
 
UR stretched its lead back out to eight on David Ackles' hook shot and Adetosoye's driving layup, and once again led by 10 following back-to-back makes from Murray, but an 8-1 run by Jonathan Milloway made it a three-point game before Oprea's three-point play sent UR and CMU into the locker room separated by just six points, 34-28.
 
Allen got the second half started with a three for the Tartans, while Sock and McEachern each knocked down shots to make it a seven-point UR lead with 15:31 to play before Carnegie Mellon made their run to take the lead.
 
Rochester falls to 7-13 (1-8 UAA) with the loss, while the Tartans move to 12-8 (3-6 UAA) with the win.
 
Murray led the Yellowjackets with a game-high 16 points, while Adetosoye, Oprea and Sock joined the sophomore in double figures with 12, 11 and 10 points apiece, respectively.
 
Kwiecinski led UR on the glass with 12 rebounds, while Sock dished out a team-high three assists.
 
As a team, Rochester outrebounded CMU, 52-49, but shot just 33.8 percent for the contest, 28.6 percent (8-for-28) from three and 9-for-12 from the free-throw line, while the Tartans made 36.8 percent of their attempts, shooting 33.3 percent (8-for-24) from three and 14-for-21 from the line.
 
Rochester next hosts Brandeis University on Friday, Feb. 14 at 5:30 p.m. inside the Louis Alexander Palestra.