Tartans Drop Home Contest to Rochester

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) - The Carnegie Mellon University men's basketball team dropped a home University Athletic Association (UAA) contest to the University of Rochester, 71-60, on Friday evening in Wiegand Gymnasium. The Tartans are now 8-5 overall and 1-2 in the UAA while the Yellowjackets improve to 10-4 and 2-2.

Rochester jumped out to a 9-0 lead as the Tartans missed their first six shots and turned the ball over twice in the first four minutes of the game. A three-pointer by Berry broke the scoreless streak for the Tartans who would put together a 12-4 run ending with a three-pointer by senior Charlie Tripp (Cincinnati, Ohio / Mariemont) four minutes later to trail 13-12.

The Tartans took their first lead at 25-24 with 4:22 to play in the first half when Holmes made a jumper off an assist from Berry. However, the Yellowjackets answered on the next possession on a three-pointer by Trent Noordsij and went on to lead 35-30 at the break.

The 30 points for the half was a season low for the Tartans who shot 42.3% from the field and visited the free throw line six times for five points.

Sophomore R.J. Holmes (Buffalo Grove, Ill. / Adlai Stevenson) led with seven points with junior Josh Berry (Western Springs, Ill. / Lyons Township) and junior Sean Oberman (Flemington, N.J. / Hunterdon Central) each hitting a three-pointer and scoring five points in the half.

Brian Amabilino Perez led all first-half scorers with 11 points, making five out of eight shots from the field.

An 11-3 run to start the second period put the Yellowjackets up by double digits at 46-33. The visitors kept the double-digit advantage for the remainder of the game, leading by as many as 18.

The Tartans were held to 21 points below their season average by the Yellowjackets who give up an average of 62.9 points per game.

Holmes finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season with junior Kevin Sax (Highlands Ranch, Colo. / Thunder Ridge) leading the team with 11 points.

Amabilino Perez finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead Rochester while Noordsij scored 15.

The Tartans will next host Emory University (10-4, 3-1) on Sunday, January 23 at 12:00 p.m. The Eagles defeated Case Western Reserve University, 80-70, on Friday evening.