MEN'S BASKETBALL DEFEATS CLEARY 84-69

LANSING, Mich. - It was another great scoring outing for Gunner Walters, who put up his fifth game of 20+ points this season with 24. Rochester (10-1, 5-1) won its third straight game on Saturday evening, defeating the Cleary Cougars (0-10, 0-6) 84-69. Walters wasn't the only one who had a great night on offense, with Anthony Cukaj and Stavros Polatoglou combining for 33 points. Off the bench, Brett White produced another double-figure outing with 11. 

Rochester capitalized on the free throw line - hitting 24 of 30 to help keep the Cougars at bay. 

THE RUNDOWN

FIRST HALF

• Rochester overcame an early deficit thanks to a hot start from Walters, who hit three threes in the first eight minutes of play. After a bit of a scoring drought, Bralin Toney broke the ice with a three of his own. The Cougars continued to fight back, regaining the lead for the majority of the first period
• After going down, Rochester found some momentum behind Polatoglou, who corralled several offensive boards before getting a bucket inside. Rochester drew a few fouls and capitalized on some big defensive possessions before tying the game at halftime, 34-34

SECOND HALF

• Momentum seemed to stagnate for both teams to start out, with neither team finding much separation following some grueling possessions. However, a three from Cukaj and an ensuing timeout helped Rochester find its stride. Walters shortly followed up with another three, and White helped kickstart a 6-0 run that gave the Warriors some needed separation
• It took a minute for the Warriors to expand the lead, but things started to open up off great interior play. Polatoglou scored a basket before assisting Brody Parker to keep things going. Walters and Cukaj also got big baskets to keep the lead in double-digits before free throws helped seal the deal for the Warriors

POSTGAME PRESSER

Head Coach Klint Pleasant had this to say on Walters' great offensive start to 2023-24:

"I don't think there's just one or two things he's improved, he's been in the gym day-in and day-out. You'll find him there all the time, and he's always focusing on taking game-like reps, and that's really translated into his scoring this season."

STAT OF THE GAME

Rochester's 24 made free throws are the highest amount of makes from the charity stripe for the team this season. The previous high was 20 in the Warriors' 77-73 win over Saint Xavier on Nov. 3. 

UP NEXT

The Warriors will get some rest before traveling to Indiana for a big non-conference matchup with #9 Indiana Wesleyan. 

Hussein Murray - RU Athletic Communications

Featured Image: Toby Buckheim - Buckheim's Photo & Film