CHICAGO – The University of Chicago men's basketball team came through in the clutch and survived a determined rally by University of Rochester in the final minute of the game to earn a 66-62 home victory on Friday evening.

The Maroons improved to 8-12 overall (3-6 in the University Athletic Association). The Yellowjackets fell to 13-7 and 5-5 in UAA play.

Consecutive jumpers by senior Ryan Martin and sophomore Elliot Paschal put the home side up 9-6 early on. Senior Brandon Beckman then hit a pair of treys to make the score 15-12. The Maroons shot 5-for-9 from three-point range during the first half.

A Paschal three gave UChicago its largest lead of the half at 24-19, and Martin's driving layup gave his team a 33-30 advantage going into halftime. Beckman led the way with nine points at the break.

A see-saw second half ensued, with UChicago recapturing the lead for good at 49-47 with 6:28 left after a layup by junior Skyler Twyman. A 9-2 run over the next five minutes put the Maroons firmly in the driver's seat at 60-51.

However, Rochester proved hard to put away. A layup, a turnover and a three-pointer in a 14-second span put the Yellowjackets back to within two possessions. Another trey with 26 seconds left trimmed the deficit to 62-59, and the visitors had a chance to tie it after a Maroon turnover on the inbounds. The long-distance shot missed, and UChicago went streaking the other way for a Bryce Hopkins layup to push the lead to five with 14 seconds left.

The Yellowjackets came up empty the next time down the floor, and two Martin free throws sealed the win.

Beckman paced the scoring effort with 17 points to go with seven rebounds. Senior Zach Munson racked up 16 points and 12 rebounds for his third double-double in the past five games. Paschal tallied eight points and three rebounds, while Hopkins posted seven points and six rebounds.

UChicago shot 38.9 percent from the field, 36.8 percent from three-point range (7-19) and 77.3 percent from the free throw line (17-22). Rochester made 37.5 percent of its field goals, 25 percent of its threes (5-20) and 50 percent of its free throws (9-18).

Rebounds were even at 40 apiece, while UChicago committed more turnovers (16-13). The Yellowjackets led the points in the paint category 32-14.

NEXT GAME:

• Sunday, Feb. 13 @ 12:00 PM – Emory University at UChicago