From Carnegie Mellon University Athletics
Six players scored in double figures, as the Carnegie Mellon University men's basketball team won a, 102-97, thriller at home in double-overtime over the University of Rochester on Sunday, February 21 in University Athletic Association (UAA) play. The Tartans are now 21-1 when scoring 100 or more points in a contest dating back to the 1947-48 season. The win moves Carnegie Mellon's record to 10-14, 3-10 UAA while the Yellowjackets, who entered the game in a tie for the first place in the UAA, are now 17-7, 10-3.
The game was sent into overtime when Tartan junior Jack Serbin (New Albany, Ohio) drained a three-pointer with a hand in his face with 10 seconds showing on the clock to knot the score at 71-71.
The Tartans opened the extra frame connecting on three straight triples which gave the home team its largest lead of the game, 80-71, with 3:31 on the clock. Rochester responded scoring the next five points. Carnegie Mellon went ahead 88-86 with nine seconds showing after a foul shot by senior Jason Sebak (New Kensington, Pa./Kiski Prep), but the visitor's had the last shot of the first overtime period and made it count. Jared Seltzer drove the lane and pulled up for a 16-foot jumper a connecting sending the game to a second extra frame.
In the second overtime, sophomore Ryan Maha (West Mifflin, Pa.) gave the Tartans a 97-90 lead with 1:17 to play. The sophomore scored nine of his career-best 25 points in double-overtime. A pair of foul shots by Serbin with five seconds left sealed Carnegie Mellon's 10th win of the season.
Carnegie Mellon trailed 18-6 six minutes into the contest before using a 10-3 run over the seven-in-a-half minutes to pull within a point at 21-20. With 2:43 left in the half, a foul shot by senior Blake Chasen (Chevy Chase, Md./Phillips Exeter (N.H.)) gave the Tartans their first lead of the game. Carnegie Mellon held to a one-point advantage at the break, 33-32, following three made foul shots by Sebak with .5 seconds on the clock.
Both teams came out in the second half with the hot hand. Carnegie Mellon converted its first seven shots and Rochester its first five, as the home team held a 49-46 edge four minutes into play. During the spurt, Maha scored nine points, including the first seven of the half for the Tartans.
The rest of the second half, neither team led by more than five points, as Rochester held a 71-66 advantage with 1:17 to play after a layup by Michael Mangan. On the Tartans ensuing possession, junior Chris Shkil (Mentor, Ohio/Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin) cut the deficit to three on a layup of his own. Following a turnover by the Yellowjackets, Serbins trey sent the game into overtime.
In a game that saw 22 lead changes and the scored tied 12 times, Carnegie Mellon shot 50.0% from the floor which marked the fifth time this season they have shot 50% or better. Rochester ended the game shooting41.9%.
Maha led the Tartans in scoring and also tied a career-best with four assists. Serbin chipped in with 19 points, hauled down a game-high 17 rebounds to record his 15 double-double and tied a career-best with five assists. Sebak poured in a career-best 18 points, after converting 8-of-9 from the charity stripe. The senior also dished out six assists. Freshman Patrick Ehland (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) scored 13 points and Shkil and Chasen finished with 12 and 11, respectively. Shkil grabbed 12 rebounds to tab his fourth double-double.
Rochester had four score in double figures with Sam Borst-Smith scoring a game-high 28 points which made him the 28th player in Rochester men's basketball history to score 1,000 for his career. Jacob Wittig scored 21 while Mangan and Seltzer each had 17 and 15, respectively.