Men's basketball remains poised for UAA title

Seniors Macky Bergman-Clark, Brian Jones, Andy Larkin and Makedo Wisseh helped lead the UR men’s basketball team to its 31st consecutive win at the Palestra. Following up on their 70-56 win over Case Western Reserve University on Friday night, the Yellowjackets prevailed over Emory University on Sunday’s “Senior Day” game, clinching at least a share of the UAA title.UR improved its record to 21-4, 12-1 in the UAA. Emory dropped to 10-14, 4-9 in UAA action. Larkin scored 14 points and added seven steals and two blocked shots in his final home game.Wisseh netted ten points and five assists for the Yellowjackets in his 25 minutes on the court.Jones scored five points and grabbed five rebounds, while Bergman-Clark scored two points and pilfered two steals in the matchup.UR was led in scoring by junior Seth Hauben. Hauben finished with 17 points and five rebounds.Junior Gabe Perez, who is one of 16 finalists for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s inaugural Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award, led UR with eight assists. The third-ranked Yellowjackets shot 69 percent from the floor in the first half en route to a 41-22 halftime lead. They followed up that hot shooting performance by connecting on 54 percent of their shots in the second half, finishing the game at 62 percent.The Yellowjackets held Emory to 34 percent shooting for the night.An estimated crowd of 700 watched the Yellowjackets score the first points of the game and never look back. After getting ahead 15-10 at the 12:46 mark, UR went on a frenetic 18-4 run in six minutes to go ahead by 19.Emory got as close as 14 points in the second half but could get no closer, as the Yellowjackets methodically increased their lead to 27 points over the next ten minutes of the game. UR coasted the rest of the way, and finished with the 18-point margin of victory.The Yellowjackets outrebounded their opponent 36-29 and had 24 assists to Emory’s six. The Yellowjackets’ final game of the season will be Friday at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. If UR defeats CMU, they will win the UAA title outright over Washington University and earn the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. There is a possibility that UR and Washington University could share the conference title.Tipton can be reached at rtipton@campustimes.org.