Guilford's 73-67 advantage with 4:41 left matched the game's biggest lead in the hard-fought contest. The Spartans (2-5) battled back to within 76-75 with 1:58 left behind six points from freshman Matt Cannan (Dublin, OH/Dublin Coffman). Following a Quakers' time-out, junior Patrick Stephenson (Cary, NC/Apex (Campbell)) buried his fourth three-pointer of the game from the top of the key for a 79-75 Guilford edge with 1:39 remaining.
Junior forward Carson Oren (South Bend, IN/Marian Catholic) kept Case Western close with a layup and three-pointer on two of the Spartans' next three possessions, but Guilford's Kimbrough made four free throws in the final 33 seconds to ice the win.
Oren matched his season high with a game-best 28 points and grabbed a tilt-high eight rebounds. He made three three-pointers and 11 of 13 free throws. Junior guard Funso Lafe (Chesterland, OH/Hawken) added 21 points and five boards for the Spartans.
Kimbrough and Stephenson each set career highs with 12 points. Stephenson made four-of-six three-pointers. Guilford's leading scorer, junior center Genaro Lawhorn (Greensboro, NC/Oak Ridge Military Academy), was held shotless in the first half, but rallied with 10 points and six of his seven rebounds in the second half. Freshman Ray Edmond (Winston-Salem, NC/North Forsyth) added 10 points and three steals off the bench. The Quakers made a season-high 12 three pointers and had 19 offensive rebounds that led to 22 points.
Guilford resumes Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) play Jan. 8 against visiting Randolph-Macon, the preseason league favorite, at 2:00 p.m. The Spartans host Westminster Jan. 3 at 7:30 p.m.
Case Western Reserve vs Guilford 12/31/04 3:00 p.m. at Greensboro, NC - Ragan-Brown Field House At Greensboro, NC - Ragan-Brown Field House GUILFORD 85, CASE WESTERN RESERVE 82 CASE WESTERN RESERVE (2-6) Oren, Carson 7-13 11-13 28; Lafe, Funso 10-22 0-3 21; Cannan, Matt 2-5 4-4 9; Impastato, Andrew 3-7 0-0 9; Mullen, Richard 2-7 0-0 5; Sallee, Jeremy 2-5 0-0 4; Conrad, Mason 1-5 1-2 3; Bradford, Brandon 1-3 0-0 3; Lenzer, Dave 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-68 16-22 82. GUILFORD (6-4) SNIPES, Jordan 6-13 3-3 18; STEPHENSON, Patrick 4-7 0-0 12; KIMBROUGH, Caleb 3-6 4-4 12; LAWHORN, Genaro 1-3 8-10 10; EDMOND, Ray 4-8 1-4 10; BURGE, Thomas 2-8 2-2 7; BELKOSKI, Eric 3-7 0-0 7; STRONG, Ben 2-6 0-0 4; ATKINSON, Kerry 2-7 0-2 4; GRAY, Ashford 0-4 1-2 1; SHARPE, Andy 0-4 0-0 0; MILLER, Truitt 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-74 19-27 85. Case Western Reserve.......... 40 42 - 82 Guilford...................... 37 48 - 85 3-point goals-Case Western Reserve 10-21 (Oren, Carson 3-4; Impastato, Andrew 3-6; Mullen, Richard 1-4; Bradford, Brandon 1-1; Lafe, Funso 1-3; Cannan, Matt 1-3), Guilford 12-39 (STEPHENSON, Patrick 4-6; SNIPES, Jordan 3-7; KIMBROUGH, Caleb 2-4; EDMOND, Ray 1-4; BURGE, Thomas 1-7; BELKOSKI, Eric 1-3; GRAY, Ashford 0-4; ATKINSON, Kerry 0-3; STRONG, Ben 0-1). Fouled out--Case Western Reserve-None, Guilford-None. Rebounds-Case Western Reserve 43 (Oren, Carson 8), Guilford 50 (LAWHORN, Genaro 7). Assists-Case Western Reserve 14 (Oren, Carson 3; Mullen, Richard 3), Guilford 18 (BURGE, Thomas 5). Total fouls-Case Western Reserve 18, Guilford 20. A-235 Guilford's 4th win in 5 games... Lawhorn scored all 10 of his points in the 2nd half... Snipes sets a career high with 18 points for the Quakers... Case Western suffered its second straight loss. Guilford hosts Randolph-Macon Jan. 8 at 2 p.m.