From Case Western Reserve University Athletics
The Case Western Reserve University men's basketball team picked up its first home victory of the season on Saturday afternoon, topping the Adrian College Bulldogs 74-67 at Horsburgh Gymnasium.
The win raised the Spartans' overall record to 2-4, while Adrian dropped to 3-2 on the campaign with the loss.
Case Western Reserve senior forward T.J. Duckett led a well-rounded scoring effort for the Spartans with 16 points, and collected a career-high 18 rebounds, surpassing his previous high water mark of 16, notched against SUNY Brockport last season. Sophomore guard Sam Hansen added 10 points in the game, and sophomore forward Michael Hollis had nine points and eight rebounds. Ten different Spartan players scored at least one point in Saturday's game
Each team had their share of runs in the first half, starting with a game-opening 8-2 run for the Spartans behind three pointers by Hansen and freshman guard Antonio Ionadi, before a 14-3 run by the Bulldogs gave the visitors a 16-11 lead at the 11:19 mark. Freshman guard Ignas Masiulionis would hit a three and a pair of free throws to put CWRU back ahead 21-20 with 8:40 to go in the period, but Adrian would respond again, scoring eight of the next nine points to gain their largest lead of the half, 28-22. Once again, Case Western Reserve had an answer, and a three-pointer by Masiulionis with 1:13 left in the first half would give the Spartans a one-point lead, 31-30, by halftime.
Masiuilionis and Duckett led the team with eight points apiece in the first half, with Duckett adding a team-leading eight rebounds during the opening stanza.
After a few early lead changes in the half, the Spartans would take a lead on a layup by Hollis with 8:39 remaining, and would not trail again in the game. Case Western Reserve would secure the victory with a 15-5 run over a five minute 45 second stretch starting at the 6:20 mark, and would take a game-high 11 point lead, 72-61, with 20 seconds left after a pair of free throws by Duckett.
As a team, Case Western Reserve shot 47.5% from the floor (28-of-59), including a 54.8% mark (17-of-31) in the second half. The Spartans outscored the Bulldogs 21-4 on second chance opportunities, and the CWRU bench outscored Adrian's 25-13 in the game.
Adrian's Justin Webster led all players on Saturday with 23 points.