University of Rochester Men’s Basketball (URBB) finished its NCAA tournament run over spring break with a 91–87 loss to the top-ranked Whitman College in a fast paced, high scoring contest in Marietta, Ohio.
In the first two games of the tournament, the Yellowjackets were fueled by a supportive crowd, taking advantage of their home court advantage to defeat Albertus Magnus College and Union College 89–66 and 82–60, respectively.
The team then traveled to play seventh-ranked Marietta College in a closely contested game on their home court. The Yellowjackets overcame a 12 point second half deficit, highlighted by two clutch offensive rebounds by sophomore guard Ryan Clamage with under a minute left to take the lead and gain another possession. The team shot an incredible 48-percent clip from behind the arc with senior guard Mack Montague contributing six threes on his own. Montague, senior guard Sam Borst-Smith and senior forward Zack Ayers combined for 57 points, led by Montague’s game-high 27. The Sweet Sixteen victory brought the team to its sixth showing in the Elite Eight, where it would face Whitman College.
Whitman played an uptempo style of basketball, applying a full court press on every defensive possession and consistently pressuring the ball.
“The pace of play made it a game of runs,” said Coach Luke Flockerzi.
URBB struggled early on, turning the ball over eight times in the first eight minutes, but managed to slow themselves down, only turning the ball over eight times for the remainder of the game. Ayers took advantage of broken presses and hit the offensive glass, scoring a game-high 27 points while pulling down 15 boards. Sophomore guard Jacob Wittig nearly reached a triple-double, scoring 15 points while pulling down seven rebounds and dishing out eight assists. The game came down to the wire with Whitman making the shots required to pull off the 91–87 victory. Despite the loss, the Yellowjackets proved they were equally as capable of winning the tournament as any other team.
