The Aquinas men's basketball team went into the five-minute mark of the second half with a five-point cushion on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 1) in the Sturrus Center, but visiting Rochester put together a huge late-game surge to prevail by an 80-66 score. The teams split the season series, with AQ winning on Rochester's home floor in overtime in mid-December.
 
Aquinas held a 64-59 lead with 5:02 remaining after nine straight points from Sammie Ryans on back-to-back three-pointers and an old-fashioned three-point play. Rochester responded by scoring the game's next 19 points over the following four and a half minutes to take control and pull away with the road victory.
 
With the loss, AQ dips to 8-17 on the season and 4-11 in conference play. Rochester improves to 16-7 overall and 9-5 in league action. 
 
Davion Benton did not miss a shot on Saturday, posting 14 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, a block and a steal. He went 5-for-5 from the field and 4-of-4 at the line. Ryans put up 13 points in only 17 minutes, making 5-of-10 shots and a pair of three-pointers. Gabe Overway added 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting.
 
Jesse Hillis totaled eight points and six assists, while Truman Hillis and DeShawn Lewis each added six points. Truman Hillis went 2-for-2 from three-point range, while the Saints were a solid 7-of-18 from downtown. AQ shot 52.1 percent from the field overall and was 9-of-14 at the line.
 
Rochester shot 51.9 percent from the floor and 10-of-23 from three-point range. The Warriors made 16-of-21 free throws and were led by guard Armand Cartwright, who totaled a game-high 33 points. 
 
AQ won the rebounding battle (29-25) and outscored RU in the paint (28-22), but committed 20 turnovers which were turned into 25 Rochester points. There were six ties and six lead changes between the teams.
 
The entire game was full of big runs. Aquinas led 19-12 in the first half after a layup from Lewis and a Jesse Hillis three-pointer with just over 12 minutes remaining. Rochester answered with an 18-2 run that put the visitors in front 30-21 at the 6:12 mark. 
 
Less than five minutes later, AQ had regained a 31-31 tie thanks to a 10-1 run that featured three consecutive Benton layups, a Beau LePage jumper and an Overway layup. Rochester would take a slight 34-32 lead to halftime.
 
The Warriors led 50-44 with 11:51 remaining in the second half and appeared to be taking control, but a Truman Hillis three-pointer and back-to-back jumpers from Ryans put AQ back on top, 51-50. Lewis made a layup and two free throws before Ryans started his nine-point surge to give the Saints a 64-59 edge with 5:02 to play. Rochester closed the game with 21 of the final 23 points to notch the victory.
 
AQ remains at home on Wednesday (Feb. 5) for a 7:30 p.m. matchup with Siena Heights.