Yellowjackets advanced to Sweet 16

The second round game of the NCAA tournament was held in the Palestra on March 6. A crowd of 1,025 gathered to watch the Yellowjackets take on the St. John Fisher Cardinals in this NCAA showdown. UR won the tip-off to begin the game. Junior Seth Hauben scored the first points for UR with a jumper at 18:40.Junior Gabe Perez began his contribution to game the early on. He dished off to sophomore Joe Canty for a lay-up at 17:30 for the first of his many assists. After this, UR did not lose the lead for the rest of the game. Five minutes into the game Hauben drove to the basket, spun and sank a lay-up to give the Yellowjackets a four-point lead with around 15 minutes to go in the first half.Sean O’Brien, a guard for St. John Fisher, kept the Cardinals in the game with his impressive long-range shooting. He exchanged three-pointers with junior Ryan Mee just before the 10-minute mark to bring the game to within one point with the Yellowjackets still on top. A crafty combination of plays led Rochester to increase the margin. Senior Andy Larkin fed the ball to Hauben who made a lay-up under the basket. Junior Brendan McAllister followed up with a deep three pointer to push the lead to seven points. Larkin then took the ball himself and drove to the hoop for a layup. UR recovered the ball again, which ended up in Hauben’s possession. He hit a jumper from the free throw line. The next play, Larkin was fouled and sank both of his shots. The Yellowjackets had a safe, commanding lead at this time in the game. With about five minutes to go in the first half the score was 25-12.The first half was dominated by the Yellowjackets. They completed 13 of 24 shots from the field and sunk five out of six free throws. Defensive rebounds were secured by Hauben and senior Makedo Wisseh. Hauben also led the team in points for the first half with 15. He shot six of nine from the field, connected on three of four free throws and had six total rebounds. Hauben was named University Athletic Association Men’s Player of the Year and First Team All-Association.”We like to establish our inside game early,” Hauben said in a post-game interview with George VanderZwaag, Director of Athletics and Recreation. “When we can wear them down on defense, it tires them out on offense.”The second half started off with St. John Fisher scoring five points off a three and a jump shot to reduce the lead the Yellowjackets were holding to 11. With 15 minutes remaining in the game, Hauben displayed how hard work and determination pay off. He struggled for position inside the key, received a pass, turned around and took a shot. Although he missed, Hauben fought for the rebound, grabbed it and made the layup.Hauben received a short break after this. He was taken out and senior Brian Jones was put in.The Yellowjacket offense contributed much to the success and scoring opportunities in the second round game against Fisher. The passing was crisp and accurate, confusing the Fisher defense into running around and tiring themselves out. The offense was led by Perez who confidently brought the ball up the court and distributed it to an open player when there was one or held onto it, skillfully waiting for a player to get open. If that didn’t happen, he wasn’t afraid to take it himself and have a try at a shot. Perez was able to control the pace of the game and play the style of game that the Yellowjackets needed in order to win.The Fisher defense put on a full-court press with around four minutes to go in the game. At this point the Yellowjackets had 61 and the Cardinals had 49. The Yellowjacket defense held strong and didn’t allow Fisher to get within eight points.The game ended in a victory for the Yellowjackets by a score of 75 to 66. With this win, UR advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA tournamen, losing to Keene State College, 82-79.Tice can be reached at ctice@campustimes.org.