PITTSBURGH, Pa. – With an 86-79 triumph over visiting Emory (Ga.) University Friday night, the Carnegie Mellon University men’s basketball team (13-10, 5-7) clinched their first winning season since 1995-96 and just the fourth in Head Coach Tony Wingen’s 14 years at the helm.
Emory (10-13, 4-8) opened up the game quickly, using four three-pointers to open up a 19-9 lead nearly eight minutes into the contest. The Tartans started chipping away immediately and, behind the strength of an 18-7 spurt in the latter stages of the period, were able to carry a 47-42 advantage into the halftime locker room.
Junior guard Michael Divens and sophomore forward Clayton Barlow-Wilcox scored 14 and 10 points respectively in the opening stanza to counter a huge effort from Emory’s Chase Fawsett, who amassed 17 points and seven boards by the break.
Divens scored the first hoop of the second half but the see-saw affair began there, as the Eagles went on an 11-2 run to take a 53-51 lead. Carnegie Mellon scored the next seven points but Emory stayed right with the Tartans and a three-point play by Eagle forward Clayton Fuller put the visitors ahead 62-60 at the 11:13 mark.
That lead didn’t last for long, as Tartan senior forward Matt Kaitz drilled treys on consecutive possessions to kick start an 18-6 burst that seemed to give Carnegie Mellon control of the game with a 78-68 margin with five minutes to play.
But the Tartan offense ran cold and Emory took advantage, tallying the next 11 points and on a Fawsett lay-up with 1:21 to play, claimed a 79-78 lead. On the following possession, Carnegie Mellon missed a pair of shots but pulled down the offensive board both times. Finally, with 52 ticks left, junior guard Eliot Goren hit a lay-up to put the Tartans ahead for good.
Emory’s next possession ended with a turnover and then the game came down to Carnegie Mellon making free throws. The Tartans went 7-18 from the line and missed four consecutive in the final minute of an 83-81 loss at Emory Jan. 25. But that misfortune would not be repeated, as sophomore guard A.J. Straub hit a pair and Divens cashed in four straight to seal the victory and the winning season.
Four Tartans reached double figures in the victory, which improved Carnegie Mellon to 9-1 this season at Skibo Gymnasium. Divens chalked up 26 points, while Kaitz, who went 4-6 from behind the arc, finished with 18 markers and grabbed a team-best eight rebounds. Barlow-Wilcox added 12 points and six caroms and Straub hit a trio of trifectas on his way to 11 points.
The Eagles were paced by their big man Fawsett, who collected 27 points and nine rebounds, while Fuller recorded a double-double with 19 points and 10 boards. Guards Robert Spivey and Rawshawn Allen fired in 13 and 11 points respectively in the defeat.