RIT rallied from an eight-point deficit to tie the game at 52-all on a four-point play by Rob Hampton with 3:42 left. He hit a three-pointer on a kickout from Kenny Gethers, was fouled by Brackney, and sank the free throw.
Just over a minute later, Brackney sank a three-pointer from left wing to put Rochester ahead for good, 55-52. Tim Bacon sank two free throws for RIT, cutting the deficit to 55-54 with 2:13 left. Brackney sank another three with 46 seconds remaining (58-54), then hit two free throws with 18 seconds left for the final margin.
Mike Chmielowiec led the Yellowjackets with a career high 18 points. He hit six of eight from the floor and added six rebounds. Brackney finished with 14 points. Jon Onyiriuka had eight points, six rebounds, and five blocked shots. UR is 7-2. The win was the 499th career victory for head coach Mike Neer, now in his 31st season.
Bacon and Gethers had 12 points and nine rebounds each for the Tigers (5-3). Hampton finished with 11 points. The win snapped RIT’s four-game winning streak.
Neither team could find a foothold in the first half. Rochester built a five point elad at 17-12, only to see the Tigers tie the score within a minute. Chmielowiec hit a jumper and two free throws in the closing minutes to offset a layup by Colin Roy for a 30-28 lead at the half.
Chmielowiec scored five points and Onyiriuka added two in the opening minutes of the second half as Rochester broke out to a 37-30 lead. Gethers scored four in an 8-0 RIT run that put the Tigers back in front. Back to back layups by Uche Ndubizu put Rochester ahead, 42-38. Two Brackney free throws made it six and it finally grew to eight after three more Ndubizu free throws over a two-minute stretch. Rochester led, 50-42 with 5:19 to go. That set up the final sequences.
Newspaper Box Score RIT vs Rochester 01/02/07 8 pm at Palestra, Rochester, NY At Palestra, Rochester, NY ROCHESTER 60, RIT 54 RIT (5-3) Kenny Gethers 5-7 2-2 12; Tim Bacon 5-10 2-7 12; Rob Hampton 3-6 4-4 11; Scott Young 2-5 0-0 5; Barrett Zeinfeld 2-11 0-0 4; Phil Leslie 2-2 0-0 4; Mark Carson 1-4 1-2 3; Colin Roy 1-3 1-2 3; Jim Torto 0-2 0-0 0; Randy Muldrow 0-0 0-0 0; Brent Pozzi 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-50 10-17 54. ROCHESTER (7-2) Chmielowiec, Mike 6-8 4-6 18; Brackney, Tim 3-9 6-6 14; Onyiriuka, Jon 3-10 2-6 8; Ndubizu, Uche 2-4 4-5 8; Juron, Jeff 1-6 2-3 4; Milbrand, Dan 2-6 0-1 4; Snider, Eric 1-3 0-0 2; Runco, Brad 0-2 2-3 2; Dominiak, Robert 0-2 0-0 0; Kaplan, Max 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-51 20-30 60. RIT........................... 28 26 - 54 Rochester..................... 30 30 - 60 3-point goals-RIT 2-13 (Scott Young 1-3; Rob Hampton 1-2; Barrett Zeinfeld 0-8), Rochester 4-16 (Chmielowiec, Mike 2-2; Brackney, Tim 2-6; Juron, Jeff 0-4; Runco, Brad 0-1; Dominiak, Robert 0-2; Kaplan, Max 0-1). Fouled out--RIT-Phil Leslie, Rochester-None. Rebounds-RIT 38 (Tim Bacon 9; Kenny Gethers 9), Rochester 32 (Chmielowiec, Mike 6; Onyiriuka, Jon 6). Assists-RIT 10 (Kenny Gethers 3), Rochester 14 (Juron, Jeff 4). Total fouls-RIT 24, Rochester 17. A-350