No. 6 Maroons Erupt in Second Half to Rally Past Rochester
The sixth-ranked University of Chicago men's basketball team shot 58.3% from the floor in the second half to come from behind and defeat the University of Rochester 72–63 on Friday afternoon. Looking to get back in the win column, the Maroons' late surge fueled a 50-point half, extending their conference record to 5-1 and overall record to 15-2.
Rochester opened the game with a 7-3 run to take an early lead. UChicago answered quickly as Daniel Cochran scored on consecutive possessions in the paint to even the score at seven.
The teams traded baskets over the next several minutes. Nick Roper converted a layup in traffic, and Shane Regan scored his first bucket on a baseline drive to tie the contest again at nine. Rochester regained the lead, but Regan responded with back-to-back layups and L.J. Moore completed a three-point play to spark a 7–0 Chicago run and push the Maroons in front 18–15 with a little more than seven minutes remaining.
The Yellowjackets responded to the Maroons' run with a three, trimming the margin to two, but Roper finished a layup off a Joe Berry assist to make it 22–18. With three minutes to go in the first, Rochester took the lead on a three and closed out the first half up by three.
Chicago came out firing in the second half. Roper buried a three just over a minute in to tie the game at 25, and Phillip Lawrence followed with a triple of his own to give the Maroons a two-point advantage. Jumping out on a fast-break, Eamonn Kenah finished at the rim, and Cochran scored inside off a Roper assist as UChicago extended the run to 10–0 and took a 32–26 lead.
As the Maroons were on a roll, Regan took over midway through the half, scoring on three straight possessions to give UChicago its biggest lead of the game at 11. Moments later, Noah Pit knocked down a three from the top of the key, putting the Maroons up by 14 with 13 minutes remaining.
Rochester attempted to rally, but UChicago showed no signs of stopping, keeping the margin to double-digits until the final 27 seconds. The Yellowjackets cut the deficit to eight, but the Maroons second-half surge had given them just enough to maintain the win.
Shane Regan led the Maroons with 15 points and four rebounds, while Roper posted 12 points and nine boards. Cochran added 10 points, seven rebounds, two assists and a block. Moore and Pit each scored nine off the bench as UChicago's reserves contributed 28 points.