At the end of the first half against the University of Rochester last Sunday afternoon, the men's basketball team was down by just 2 points. But the Judges were unable to take the lead and struggled down the stretch, ultimately falling to Rochester 77-57.
The loss brings the Judges' record to 13-6 and 3-6 in University Athletic Association play, after losing to Emory University last Friday night by a score of 85-70.
With 6 minutes, 33 seconds left in the first half, the Judges were up by 2 after a 3-pointer by guard Anthony Trapasso '13 and a layup by guard Ben Bartoldus '14. From that point on though, the Judges began to lose momentum, and the game went back and forth before the YellowJackets secured a 6-point lead with 1:57 left to go. The Judges were able to cut into the deficit, making two quick shots just before the break to make the score 35-33 at the half. In the first half, the Judges shot 59.1 percent from the field and were three-for-six from downtown.
The YellowJackets expanded their lead early in the second half, going up by 7 points with 11:43 left in the game. They then reeled off a 15-6 run over the next 5 minutes to take control of the game. The Judges faltered, shooting just 32.1 percent from the field and two-for-eight from downtown in the second half.
"We played a very good first half," coach Brian Meehan said. "The guys executed on the floor pretty well. But in the second half, we got into the spot where we make mistakes and we dropped defensively and we give up offensive rebounds and possessions. It got to the point where we didn't score and then they got the ball and they scored."
The Judges were able to slow down the YellowJackets' assault down the stretch, but it was not enough. In the last 6 minutes, the Judges scored 5 points, compared to the YellowJackets' 9, and Rochester won the game by 20.
"Until we become a much better defensive team, we're going to continue to struggle," Meehan said. "So we have to keep getting better on that end of the floor. It's traditionally what we've been very good at. On the bright side, Ben Bartoldus had a great game and Youri [Dascy] '14 had a tough second half but continues to show a lot of promise."
The Judges were led by Bartoldus, who had 17 points and was 7-8 from the field, including 2-for-3 from 3-point range. Guard Tyrone Hughes '12 had a game-high eight assists to go along with 7 points. Guard/forward Vytas Kriskus '12 led the team with six rebounds.
The Judges' bench outscored the YellowJackets' with 14 points to 9. Forward Alex Schmidt '14 had 4 points and five rebounds off the bench, and guard Derek Retos '14 contributed 4 points and two rebounds.
"It was rough," Bartoldus said. "We struggled from the first half to make shots. We couldn't get anything going offensively. We had spurts, but we couldn't really get it going perfectly. On the defensive end, we couldn't get on the shooters, and that just killed us. It was just a really rough game."
Last Friday night, the Judges lost to the Emory Eagles, a team that they had beaten at home the week before. The teams were neck-and-neck at the beginning, as the first half had seven lead changes. With 35 seconds left in the half, the Judges were up by 1 point, thanks to a pair of free throws by forward Alex Stoyle '14. But Emory retook the lead after Emory freshman guard Jake Davis converted an and-one play that made the score 33-31 at the break.
Three minutes into the second half, the Judges remained within 2 points, but Emory went on a 30-17 run and stretched the lead to 15 with 6:50 left in the game. The Judges were never able to make a comeback, as the game ended with the same margin between the two sides.
The Judges were led by Dascy, who had 18 points and five rebounds and was 7-9 from the field. Hughes had 13 points and two assists, and forward Christian Yemga '11 had 11 points, four rebounds and two assists.
The Judges' bench played as well as Emory's, scoring 18 points compared to Emory's 19. Guard Jay Freeman '13 and Stoyle had 4 points and three rebounds apiece.
"We played really well in the first half," Meehan said. "We gave them a hard time defensively. But in the second half we started giving them easy shots. We had a lot of turnovers and had a lot of trouble transitioning. We played a really strong offensive team and if you can't stop them then you're in trouble. They jumped out on us and we lost our composure on defense and we just unraveled."
The Judges have three games this week. They will face Amherst College tonight at 7 p.m., before playing Carnegie Mellon University on Friday and Case Western Reserve University on Sunday in the last home weekend of the season.