Seth Hauben and Tim Brackney scored 13 apiece for Rochester (22-4). The Yellowjackets advanced to the Sweet 16 for the fourth straight season. Rochester will play Amherst College of Massachusetts in the next round. The site for the Sectionals will be announced by the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Committee on Sunday, March 6.
Devon Bruce led three Union men in double figures with 16 points. He hit 7 of 10 from the floor. John Cagianello scored 14 points for Union and Brian Scordato added 10. The Dutchmen advanced to tonight’s game with an 84-70 win at Gwynedd-Mercy College in Pennsylvania on Thursday night. Union had a five-game winning streak snapped. The Dutchmen finished 17-12.
Rochester shot a season’s best .571 outside the arc, hitting 12 of 21 three-point attempts. McAllister was 5 of 10, Juron 4 of 6, and Brackney 3 of 3.
“Our game is based on balance and Union has played a lot of zone all year,” said Rochester coach Mike Neer. “We knew they would collapse on Seth (Hauben). We wanted to play the ball through the high post and reverse it.”
Rochester’s big men – Hauben and Jon Onyiriuka – combined for seven assists. Gabe Perez had eight assists.
“We had to make a choice,” said Union coach Bob Montana. “Their inside game is real good with Hauben and Onyiriuka. When you try to match-up in order to take away that strength underneath, you’re going to give up something else. We had hoped they wouldn’t shoot it as well as they did.”
A jumper by Bruce midway through the first half got the Dutchmen even at 21-21. Rochester went on a 9-2 surge in the next four minutes, capped by a McAllister three-pointer, for a 30-23 lead with 6:03 left. The lead ballooned to 10, 42-32, when Brackney hit three three-pointers in less than three minutes. “Coach (Neer) has been stressing in practice that if I’m open, I should take the shot,” Brackney said. “He says sometimes, I try to do too much.”
The Yellowjackets used an 11-0 run over three minutes early in the second half to push the lead to 20, 61-41. Juron amd McAllister hit three pointers, McAllister hit a 10 footer in the lane, and Hauben made a conventional three-point play, dropping in Onyiriuka’s pass out of the high post, then adding the free throw.
“Our kids made some adjustments on their own in the second half,” Neer said. “I’m pleased with the things we did to get open shots.”
Newspaper Box Score Union College vs Rochester 3/5/05 7 pm at Palestra - NCAA Div. III 2nd Round At Palestra - NCAA Div. III 2nd Round ROCHESTER 79, UNION COLLEGE 61 UNION COLLEGE (17-12) Devon Bruce 7-10 2-2 16; John Cagianello 5-10 2-2 14; Brian Scordato 3-9 2-2 10; Kyle Grimm 2-3 0-0 6; T.J. Ramey 2-5 0-0 4; Joe Mackey 1-6 1-2 4; Chris Murphy 2-5 0-0 4; James Rahill 1-3 0-0 3; Jordan Schur 0-1 0-0 0; Robert Futia 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-53 7-8 61. ROCHESTER (22-4) McAllister, Brendan 6-11 0-0 17; Juron, Jeff 4-6 2-3 14; Brackney, Tim 4-6 2-2 13; Hauben, Seth 6-10 1-1 13; Perez, Gabe 3-6 2-2 8; Milbrand, Dan 3-5 0-0 6; Onyiriuka, Jon 3-6 0-2 6; Mee, Ryan 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 30-53 7-10 79. Union College................. 34 27 - 61 Rochester..................... 44 35 - 79 3-point goals-Union College 8-25 (Brian Scordato 2-4; Kyle Grimm 2-3; John Cagianello 2-7; Joe Mackey 1-4; James Rahill 1-2; Jordan Schur 0-1; Chris Murphy 0-1; T.J. Ramey 0-1; Devon Bruce 0-2), Rochester 12-21 (McAllister, Brendan 5-10; Juron, Jeff 4-6; Brackney, Tim 3-3; Mee, Ryan 0-2). Fouled out--Union College-None, Rochester-None. Rebounds-Union College 19 (Brian Scordato 7), Rochester 34 (Onyiriuka, Jon 8). Assists-Union College 13 (Chris Murphy 4), Rochester 20 (Perez, Gabe 8). Total fouls-Union College 11, Rochester 9. A-491