From Case Western Reserve University Athletics
CLEVELAND – An inspired 13-1 run in the final minutes led the Case Western Reserve University men's basketball team to an 84-81 victory versus rival Carnegie Mellon University (Pa.) in the 2014 University Athletic Association opener on Saturday evening at Horsburgh Gymnasium.
The Spartans improve to 9-3 for the first time since the 2005-06 campaign. The Tartans drop to 7-5.
All five Spartan starters scored in double-figures led by senior center David Thompson (Plano, Texas/Plano Senior) with 18 points and nine rebounds, just missing a ninth-straight double-double. Junior guard Julien Person (Houston, Texas/Second Baptist) scored 17, and junior forward Dane McLoughlin (Westerville, Ohio/St. Charles Preparatory) added his third career double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
The Spartans trailed by as many as 16 in the second half and were down 79-70 with 3:27 left to play. Refusing to call it a day, Case scored 13 of the next 14 over the following 3:08 to lead 83-80 with 19 seconds on the clock. Thompson brought the score to 80-78 with a layup at 1:35, and Person tied the game with a layup at 1:26.
A steal by senior guard Tim Chung (Cypress, Calif./Los Alamitos) on the ensuing inbound pass set up sophomore point guard Jimmy Holman (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) for the go-ahead layup with 1:11 remaining. The Spartans hit 2-of-4 free throws in the final 19 seconds and withstood CMU's desperation three at the buzzer.
In the first half, the Spartans hit five three-pointers total and led by as many as 11 following a McLoughlin jumper that put the score at 31-20 with 6:25 on the clock. CMU battled back with a 21-8 run over the next five minutes and grabbed a 41-39 lead following a Seth Cordts three at 1:29. The visitor lead would grow to 43-39 by intermission.
The Tartans opened the second half with a 13-2 run and led by 15 when Kevin Stursberg hit a layup to make the score 56-41 with 16:14 left to play. Overall, CMU's run reached 36-10 from the final minutes of the first to the opening of the second.
The Spartans' deficit reached 16 several possessions later before a 19-7 run cut CMU's lead to four as McLoughlin hit a three to bring the score 66-62 with 7:58 remaining. CMU built its lead back to 10 during the next three minutes of play, but the Spartans came back with the deciding run.
For the game, CMU was led by Asad Meghani and Christian Manoli with 23 and 20 points, respectively.