CLEVELAND, Ohio – A 50-23 halftime deficit was too much to overcome as the Carnegie Mellon University men’s basketball team had a five-game winning streak stopped with an 86-75 setback at Case Western Reserve (Ohio) University.
The Tartans fall to 10-5 overall and 2-2 in the University Athletic Association, while the Spartans improve to 3-12 and 1-3.
Carnegie Mellon started well, jumping out to a 6-2 lead two minutes into the game off three-pointers by senior forward Matt Kaitz and sophomore guard A.J. Straub. But the trouble began there, as the Tartans didn’t score again for nearly seven minutes as Case used an 18-0 burst to take control of the game. The Tartans struggled from the floor the entire half and did not have an answer for Spartan sophomore Funso Lafe, who was 10-10 from the floor and scored 21 points as the hosts rolled to a 50-23 halftime lead. Carnegie Mellon shot just 20 percent (7-35) in the opening period, while Case hit 21 of 30 shots from the floor (70 percent).
Case continued to control the game in the second half, although the Tartans did manage a small run to try to get back in the game. Junior forward Michael Divens had a string of nine consecutive points to slice the Carnegie Mellon deficit to 74-58 with 10 minutes to play.
But Lafe and the Spartans did not let the visitors completely back into the game. Case’s 6-0 guard finished the game with 36 points and forward Carson Oren recorded a double-double with 28 points and 13 boards as Case put the game away. The Tartans did close the game with a 12-2 run to make the score more respectable.
For the Tartans, Divens finished with a team-high 21 points, while Straub bucketed 17. Sophomore forward Clayton Barlow-Wilcox grabbed 11 rebounds in the defeat.