Carnegie Mellon University junior Michael Divens scored a game-high 22 points to lead the Tartans to an 87-63 victory over visiting Case Western Reserve University (4-20, 2-11) Sunday afternoon.
The triumph improves Carnegie Mellon’s record to 14-10 overall and 6-7 in the UAA. The 14 wins are the most for the Tartans since the 1994-95 season.
After the teams swapped three-pointers to open the game, Tartan guard Jason Walters hit a free throw with 17:13 left in the first half and Carnegie Mellon never trailed again. A 6-0 Spartan mini-run sliced a Tartan lead to 19-17 at one point but Carnegie Mellon answered with an 11-2 spurt that turned into a 39-29 halftime lead. Divens and sophomore forward Clayton Barlow-Wilcox each tallied 11 by the break as the Tartans shot 50 percent (14-28) in the opening period.
The teams traded baskets through the first five minutes of the second half before the Tartans put the game away. Sophomore guard A.J. Straub scored eight points and senior forward Matt Kaitz added seven during a 19-4 run that pushed the Carnegie Mellon lead to 70-43 and the hosts never looked back.
Although Carnegie Mellon posted a 48-35 advantage on the boards and shot 50 percent (32-64) from the floor for the game, that was not the story of the game. It was the Tartan defense that held Case guard Funso Lafe, who is the UAA’s leading scorer at 19.9 points per game, to just one point on 0-10 shooting from the field. Lafe hit 16 of 19 shots and scored 36 points in an 86-75 Spartan win back on Jan. 23.
Leading the Carnegie Mellon offense was Divens, who reached 22 points on 10-17 shooting. Kaitz poured in 20 and added seven rebounds and a career-high five blocks, while Barlow-Wilcox finished with 13 markers and six boards. Junior guard Eliot Goren dished off a game-high seven assists in the victory.
The Spartans were paced by forward Carson Oren, who recorded 17 points and eight rebounds.