SAINT DAVIDS, PA – A big second half rally by the University of Rochester men's basketball team just fell short, as host Eastern University posted a 74-70 win on Saturday afternoon at The Nest, the home of the Eastern Eagles Basketball Program.
 
The Yellowjackets (7-3) trailed by as many as 15 points in the second half, but used a huge 23-4 run, spanning six and a half minutes to turn that deficit into a four-point lead with under four minutes to go in the contest.
 
Unfortunately for URochester, Eastern (3-8) fended off the rally, holding the 'Jackets to just five points over the final 3:17 and secured the four-point win. The Eagles outscored the Yellowjackets 13-5 down the stretch to earn the victory.
 
Senior Tomiwa Adetosoye led the Yellowjackets in scoring with 19 points, adding 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. Justin Odibo added 18 points and eight rebounds, also sinking a team-high three 3-pointers. Corvin Oprea added 11 points and 11 rebounds in securing his first career double-double performance.
 
Eastern's Connor Fleet scored 17 points for the Eagles, while Olise Onyeka had a big effort inside, scoring 16 points while grabbing 14 rebounds, shooting 7-for-11 from the field. Dejuan Talyor had 12 points.
 
During the opening half, the teams were tied 22-all before the Eagles went on a 12-3 run to stretch their advantage to nine with 2:27 left. Onyeka had back-to-back buckets inside for the Eagles to start the run, while Nick Mate sank a triple before Oprea had the 'Jackets only basket over the three-minute stretch.
 
Odibo had a layup and John Mayhew hit a 3-pointer to end the half, trimming the lead down to four as the teams headed to intermission.
 
In the second period, Eastern scored the first six points to quickly build a 10-point advantage. Later on, the Eagles Bryson Spruell hit a 3-pointer to reach the games biggest lead, putting Eastern up 55-40 with 12:21 on the clock.
 
The teams traded baskets with Theo Murray and DaRon Sherman each scoring in the paint to reach the midway point of the second half with the margin still sitting at 15 points.
 
Eastern went cold from the floor over the next three minutes, making just one of six shots, allowing URochester to go on a 13-3 spurt, trimming the lead down to five. Adeosoye did the bulk of the work getting the Yellowjackets back into it, scoring nine points, including making six shots from the charity stripe.
 
Rochester's run continued with a Mayhew layup, and after a Eastern free throw, Odibo and Oprea combined for the next five points to put the 'Jackets up 63-61 with 4:09 remaining.
 
Adetosoye chipped in another layup and Rochester's run ended up being 23-4 over 6:37 of the game play. During the stretch, Eastern went 1-for-10 overall and had three turnovers, compared to URochester's 6-for-10 shooting and 9-for-10 effort from the free throw line.
 
Eastern settled back in though, with Onyeka getting the Eagles back within two after a layup inside.
 
A minute passed with nobody scoring before Fleet hit a pair from the free throw line to knot the game at 65-all with 2:28 on the clock. Eastern's leading scorer followed with a layup to regain the Eagle lead before Onyeka blocked an Odibo jump shot and then ran the floor for a slam dunk to double the lead with 62 seconds left.
 
The Eagles secured a steal on the next Rochester possession and Onyeka had another slam inside to build the lead to six.
 
With 36 seconds left, Jordan Owusu kept the 'Jackets in it with a 3-pointer, making the score 71-68.
 
At the other end, UR was forced to foul, with Sherman hitting both free throws before Adetosoye quickly responded with a driving fastbreak layup. The final point was a free throw made by Fleet to reach the final score of 74-70.
 
Eastern ended up shooting 30-for-63 (47.6%) from the floor, compared to Rochester's 23-for-63 effort (36.5%) overall. The Yellowjackets did make eight 3-pointers in the contest and were better from the free throw line, making 16-of-20 attempts (80.0%) versus Eastern's 11-for-18 performance (61.1%).
 
Up next, the Yellowjackets conclude their non-conference schedule on Tuesday evening at RIT, with tip-off set for 7 pm at Clark Gymnasium.