Rochester, NY - Coming off their first win of the season on Saturday, the D'Youville Men's Basketball Team fell to tournament host RIT by the score of 85-73 Sunday afternoon.

The two teams traded baskets throughout the first half, until about 4 minutes left where RIT began to pull away to an eventual 44-28 halftime lead. As the second half began, the Tigers increased their lead by scoring 11 points in 5 minutes. D'Youville rallied late, scoring 17 points in the last 7 minutes. Despite the late scoring run, the Spartans fell to the Tigers 85-73.

Head Coach Earl Schunk said that the "one big run by them at the end of the first half turned out to be the difference in the game." With D'Youville leading 22-21 at the 6 minute mark in the first half, RIT went on a 23 to 6 run to take control of the game.

Despite the loss, Coach Schunk was happy with his team's performance. "(We) played a really good game against an undefeated team with a decided height advantage," said Schunk.

For the second straight game, senior center Julian Reed (Cheektowaga, NY/Union-Endicott) posted a double-double. Reed put up 16 points and 14 rebounds, leading the team in both categories. On the defensive end, Reed added another 4 blocks to lead the team.

Junior Jon Gemerek (Cheektowaga, NY/Depew) was second on the team with 15 points. Fellow junior Marcus Clarke (Olean, NY/Archbishop Walsh Academy) contributed 11 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds. Gemerek had another solid all around game by grabbing 3 rebounds, 2 steals, dishing out 1 assist and adding 1 block. Freshman Steve Kunelius (Oswego, NY/Oswego) came off the bench to score 6 points and grab 2 rebounds.

The team shot 28-83 from the field, making 70% of their free throws and pulled down 54 rebounds. On defense, the team had 7 steals and 6 blocks. 

Heading into the upcoming conference schedule, Schunk will look for similar play out of his team in order to succeed. "If we play with this intensity consistently, we will be successful," said Schunk.

The next game for the D'Youville Men's Basketball Team comes in a week, next Sunday, November 30th against SUNY Canton at 4pm. The game follows the conclusion of the D'Youville Women's Basketball game, also against SUNY Canton beginning at 2pm.