The Rochester College men's basketball teamed traveled to Madonna University to participate in the first game of the 2009 State Farm Classic. The warriors took on the University of Michigan-Dearborn and came home with a 72-65 victory. The win raises the warrior season record to 7-7 heading into a rematch against host Madonna University at 2:00 saturday.

The warriors, despite subpar shooting, were able to carry the lead most of the first half and earn a 5 point half-time lead at 36-31. The warriors shot just 35.9% (14 of 39) in the first half along with a 6-21 (28%) shooting performance from the 3-point arc.

The second half would be a slight improvement in field goal shooting percentage as the warriors would muster up a 43% (13-30) performance. Rochester would build a lead that would grow to 10 points before UM-Dearborn would go on a 14-2 run to take a two point lead with just over 2:00 left in the game. The warriors would regain the lead with just under 1:00 remaining behind a perfect 5 for 5 free throw shooting perfomance from sophomore F Dramell Hogan.

Leading the way for the warriors was junior Marques Ewell who scored 14 points on 5 of 8 shooting. Sophomore C Ricky Doran would contribute a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds, while junior PG Stephan Henning woudl contribute 11 points and 8 assists. Junior G Michael Graham would overcome 1st half foul trouble to provide a defensive spark in the second half and score all 9 of his points on the night.

Rochester will take on the host Madonna University Crusaders at 2:00 on saturday. The game will be a rematch of a game earlier in the season, a game in which the warriors won 82-76.