MEN'S BASKETBALL GOES 2-0 IN TRAVIS BASS CLASSIC

ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. - Men's Basketball (3-0) went 2-0 in what was a hard-fought weekend hosting the Travis Bass Classic, first defeating Saint Xavier (1-1) 77-73 before ending the weekend with a 79-75 win over Taylor. Rochester saw key performances from several players across the classic.

WARRIORS VS. SAINT XAVIER - FINAL: 77-73

Rochester's first contest was a physical one, to say the least; 29 fouls were called in the first half alone. Both teams found themselves in a slugfest, with the Warriors coming out on top in the final moments.

The Cougars would play a high press on sophomore Gunner Walters for the majority of the game to prevent the Warriors from getting into their halfcourt sets. Still, Rochester made its bones on the offensive glass, where the team out-rebounded Saint Xavier 15-5.

Junior Stavros Polatoglou led the Warriors on that front, snatching down four offensive boards en route to a near double-double. Not far behind was James Fisher, who had eight rebounds overall. Fisher made one of the plays of the weekend in the first half, coming in from the weak side to reject a baseline dunk attempt by the Cougars.

"I was proud of both Stav and Fish," Head Coach Klint Pleasant said. "Our team overall did a great job of keeping them off the offensive glass and conversely, we were able to get 15 offensive boards, which is not something we particularly emphasize."

Despite physical defense being thrown at him throughout the game, Walters would have a strong scoring performance, recording 20 points. Defensively, Walters also played valuable minutes, grabbing seven boards while plucking three steals.

Rochester found some separation in the second half, going on a 10-2 run sparked by a putback layup from junior Brett White. However, despite going up 68-58, Rochester went cold offensively and saw the Cougars climb back to tie things at 69-69.

Senior Brandon Michrina would give the Warriors the relief needed to put the game as far out of reach as possible, hitting a clutch three with 47 seconds remaining. Michirina and senior Anthony Cukaj would each hit a pair of free throws to put the game away, 77-73.

WARRIORS VS. TAYLOR - FINAL: 79-75

The Warriors would find themselves in another tight contest against Taylor, with both teams hitting tough shot after tough shot. Cukaj led the way for Rochester in scoring, showcasing his interior scoring prowess throughout the game.

The Trojans, fresh off a highly efficient shooting night against new WHAC opponent Cleary, looked to play through their bigs for most of the game. Rochester went the opposite direction, with four guards scoring in double figures.

Walters had another great day scoring the ball, shooting 4-5 in the first half. Providing valuable minutes off the bench was guard Brody Parker, who could get to the free-throw line when the Warriors needed it most.

The first half was a brutal one from the three-point line for Rochester, with the team only hitting 1-9 shots. The second half would be a completely different story, with the Warriors going 6-11. Michrina paced the Warriors from the line, on the way to 11 second-half points - most of which came during a pivotal 15-2 run where Michrina and Parker found gaps in the Trojan defense.

Like the Saint Xavier contest, however, Rochester couldn't sustain the lead. The Trojans got into the paint several times and hit some tough shots to come back and tie the game at 71 all with three minutes remaining. Parker would make one of his biggest plays of the weekend by finding Fisher on a dump-off pass for an open dunk.

After an answer from the Trojans, the Warriors needed a bucket in a bad way. Cukaj answered the call, cutting baseline and hitting an incredible reverse layup to give the Warriors back the lead. Walters would follow that up with a steal and score to help Rochester secure a four-point lead, eventually taking the game 79-75.

"There is a fine line between winning and losing, and we made some toughness plays that put us on the winning side of that fine line," Pleasant said. "Was very pleased today as our guys had to grind and deal with adversity against a well-coached team."

UP NEXT

The Warriors will return to Garth Pleasant Arena on Friday, Nov. 10, to host the Tim Horton's Classic.

Hussein Murray - RU Athletic Communications