University of Rochester men's basketball knocked down 13 threes and shot 53.4 percent from the field, but it wasn't enough to defeat the 22nd-ranked NYU Violets, who topped the Yellowjackets, 88-80, on Friday evening inside the Louis Alexander Palestra.
 
The Violets also shot an impressive 55.0 percent from the field and connected on 11-of-23 three-point attempts, as the two sides rained 24 makes from three and combined to shoot nearly 55 percent from the field.
 
NYU quickly opened up the scoring with 15 of the first 20 points of the contest, scoring the first two buckets of the game on layups from Quinn Clark and Carnegie Johnson before Justin Odibo got the Yellowjackets on the board, and opening the game with a 20-7 run.
 
Free throws from Darius Gakwasi and Johnson gave NYU a 20-7 advantage just under eight minutes into the first, its largest lead of the night, before Rochester settled in and scored the next six points.
 
Layups by Bernard Dushie Jr., Jordan Owusu and Luke Razi cut the Violets' lead to single digits, 20-13, but three-straight triples from Gakwasi and Johnson pushed it back out to 10+, 29-17, with 7:50 to play in the first.
 
But Rochester would answer back with back-to-back-to-back threes of their own, the first two from Tomiwa Adetosoye, before Corvin Oprea knocked down the third off Adetosoye's assist to make it a three-point game just shy of the six-minute mark of the first.
 
NYU called a timeout to regroup and scored the next four points to stretch its lead out to seven, but the Yellowjackets would keep things close down the stretch, pulling back within four on Adetosoye's third triple of the half with 2:57 until the halftime buzzer.
 
However, the Violets would end the first half on a 9-2 run, forcing a turnover and holding the 'Jackets to just 1-for-3 from the floor over the final two minutes, while shooting 4-for-5 from the field themselves to take a 49-38 lead into the halftime break.
 
And while Oprea got Rochester started with another three to start the third, one of a team-high five the senior sank, Bryan Moussako matched Oprea's three a possession later, and the Violets would stretch their lead out to 13 again with a 7-2 spurt.
 
Trailing 56-43 with 17 minutes to play, Oprea and Odibo cut into the Violets' advantage with the next five points, and just shy of the 12-minute mark, Adetosoye and John Mayhew pulled the 'Jackets within six, 63-57.
 
But for every burst, the Violets had an answer, matching each of Rochester's four made triples over a three-plus minute stretch, to keep their lead at seven with 7:20 to play.
 
Down the stretch, Rochester made it a five-point game with 5:02 remaining on Adetosoye's driving layup, and then after NYU extended its lead back to nine, came within four with a 7-2 run over the final three minutes.
 
Oprea's driving layup with 2:51 left made it a seven-point game, and though NYU broke the press and scored quickly, Oprea then nailed a high-arching, step-back three-pointer to cut the deficit to six, 84-78, with 2:10 to play.
 
And out of a timeout, Rochester forced a pair of misses and took things the other way, scoring quickly on Owusu's fast-break layup to pull within four with 1:15 left.
 
However, that'd be as close as the Yellowjackets would get, as after Gakwasi hit both of his free throws, URochester turned it over, and Johnson went 2-for-2 at the line as well to put NYU up eight with just 20 ticks left. Oprea then missed a three-pointer, and the Violets would grab the rebound, sealing the 88-80 victory.
 
With the win, the 22nd-ranked Violets move to 16-5 (7-3 UAA) on the year, while the 'Jackets drop to 10-11 (3-7 UAA) with the loss.
 
Odibo and Oprea each led Rochester with 19 points, while Adetosoye also scored in double figures with 16 points, along with a team-high five assists. Mayhew led URochester on the glass with 10 rebounds, while Owusu had a team-high four steals.
 
For NYU, Johnson had a game-high 21, one of six Violets in double figures.
 
Rochester will next wrap up its home slate with its Senior Day matchup against Brandeis on Sunday, Feb. 15, at 2:00 p.m. inside the Louis Alexander Palestra.