COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Turnovers and a late surge by the visitors conspired to hand the Ursinus College men's basketball team a 71-69 non-conference setback at the hands of Rosemont, which closed the game on a 20-4 run to climb out of a double-digit hole inside the final three minutes.
Junior Remi Janicot paired 12 points with a game-high 16 rebounds for Ursinus (5-4) and classmate Zach Quattro (12 points, nine rebounds) fell one rebound short of a double-double for the second straight game. Junior Brian Rafferty finished with eight points, six rebounds, and six assists.
Clayton Wolfe led all scorers with 23 points in addition to nine assists and six boards for Rosemont (4-5), while Kyle Lafferty chipped in 17 points and Charles Presley collected 10, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 3.2 seconds remaining.
The Bears dominated the glass, outrebounding the Ravens, 59-26, to secure a 25-4 advantage in second-chance points and set a school record for rebounds in a game. That massive disparity helped the home side go ahead by as many as 16 points in the second half, its largest spread (49-33) coming on a put-back by junior Joseph LoStracco with 13:24 to play. But a slew of miscues allowed the pesky Ravens to make a run.
Ursinus committed 27 turnovers, its highest total in five years, and 16 of them came after intermission. Still, the Bears held a 14-point lead (65-51) on freshman Ryan McTamney's 3-pointer with 4:43 remaining. From then on, it was all Rosemont.
The Ravens cut the margin to 67-61 with 2:09 left after a 10-2 spurt capped by Lafferty's breakaway slam, and after Quattro hit two free throws, Lafferty and Presley sandwiched treys around a Bear giveaway to make it 69-67 with 54.3 ticks remaining. After an empty Ursinus possession, Wolfe drove and kicked to Presley, who buried a 3-pointer from the right corner to give Rosemont the lead with 12.9 seconds showing on the clock, the visitors' first upper hand since the 4:34 mark of the first half.
Rafferty misfired on a floater and Mekhi Clemons hit the second of two free throws to supply a 71-69 edge with 3.2 seconds left, and the Bears had the ball in front of their bench after a deflection with 1.3 ticks to play. The inbounds went to sophomore Matt Williams, whose desperation heave from well beyond the 3-point arc fell short.
Despite going 5 for 38 from the field for a large stretch of the contest and only 31.8 percent for the game (21 of 66), Rosemont came through when it counted, making six of its last seven and three 3-pointers over the final 1:14. The Ravens, who rank 9th in Division III in turnover margin, committed only eight turnovers while forcing 27, leading to a 27-6 advantage in points off turnovers.
Janicot's double-double was his second of the season and ninth of his career; he has four 15-carom performances in his career, the most by an active Centennial Conference player. The junior forward was supported up front by LoStracco (eight points, eight rebounds, two blocks), McTamney (seven points, four rebounds), and freshman Shane Stark (eight points, three blocks). Matt Williams added seven points in his first career start.
The Bears stymied one of the nation's most potent offenses for large stretches of the afternoon. Rosemont came in averaging 86.6 points per contest, but misfired on 33 of 38 attempts after a 4-for-7 start that resulted in an early 11-4 lead. Ursinus used a 12-1 run featuring six points from Stark to seize a 32-23 advantage late in the first frame; the Ravens started the second half 1 of 14 and did not cross the 50-point mark until the final five minutes.
The men's basketball team heads to Daytona Beach, Florida for the Land of Magic Classic, which begins with an 11:00 a.m. tip against Oneonta State on Wednesday, December 28.
