WARRIORS FALL SHORT TO BLUE DEVILS

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. - In a contest that saw plenty of threes fly both ways, the Warriors (15-7, 10-6) fell short to the Lawrence Tech Blue Devils (14-8, 10-6) on Saturday afternoon. After going down by double digits in the first half, the Warriors couldn't get a stable run to close the deficit in the second half.

Five Warriors scored in double-figures during the contest, with center James Fisher leading the way with 16. Rochester saw big contributions off the bench from guards Brody Parker and Bralin Toney, who combined for 28 points. Anthony Cukaj and Brett White scored 11 each.

THE RUNDOWN

FIRST HALF

• The Blue Devils kicked things off with a 5-0 run to get the game started, but Rochester quickly recovered thanks to a three from Cukaj. Both teams were staying outside the three-point line on offense, but it would be offensive rebounding by the Blue Devils that opened things up
• Lawrence Tech went on a 12-2 run to get ahead of Rochester and put Rochester in a deficit as big as 16, thanks to timely threes. Each time the Warriors hit a three, the Blue Devils had a quick answer. Rochester cut the deficit down to 11 before halftime

SECOND HALF

• The Blue Devils picked things back up with a quick 5-0 run, but Rochester recovered the five points behind a three from White and a dunk from Fisher. The Warriors crept back into a single-digit deficit behind a transition layup from Cukaj. However, Rochester couldn't capitalize on possessions afterward to close the gap even further
• After cutting the deficit to seven, the Blue Devils had another offensive explosion, hitting several deep threes to go back up by a significant margin. Rochester struggled to figure things out from there, with turnovers leading to easy transition baskets for Lawrence Tech, ending the game

STAT OF THE GAME

Made threes ended up being the difference, with the Blue Devils making 12 threes to the Warriors' seven.

UP NEXT

Rochester has a big game at home on Wednesday, Feb. 7 at 7:30 p.m., hosting #RV Madonna at Garth Pleasant Arena.

Hussein Murray - RU Athletic Communications

Featured Image: Hanna Swanson - RU Athletics