The Case Western Reserve University men's basketball team (8-3 overall) looks to begin University Athletic Association play with a victory when it hosts Carnegie Mellon University (Pa.) (5-6 overall) on Saturday, January 7 at 5:00 p.m. at Horsburgh Gymnasium.

Live Statistics - http://livestats.prestosports.com/casewesternreserve/

Live Video: http://tv.case.edu/athletics
(Ron Jantz, play-by-play; Ed Daugherty, color)

SPARTAN LEADERS

Austin Fowler - 15.3 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 2.4 apg

David Thompson - 13.5 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 2.1 bpg

Dane McLoughlin - 12.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 22 3FGM

Tom Summers - 9.6 ppg, 8.5 rpg

Julien Person - 6.7 ppg, 3.5 apg, 3.1 rpg

Robert Scott - 4.6 ppg, 1.1 rpg

Jordan Dean - 4.4 ppg, 3.6 apg

Ken Gibbons - 3.9 ppg, 2.2 apg, 1.4 rpg

LAST TIME OUT

Senior forward Tom Summers recorded team-highs of 17 points and 12 rebounds, leading three players in double-figures as the Spartans saw their eight-game win streak snapped in an 86-74 setback versus local rival John Carroll University on Friday evening in the championship game of the 2011 Bill Sudeck Holiday Tournament inside Horsburgh Gymnasium. Freshman guard Jordan Dean posted a career-best 13 points and added to his team-best total with five assists, while junior forward Austin Fowler also finished with 13 points to go along with six boards. Sophomore David Thompson had a good game at both ends of the floor with seven points, nine rebounds and a game-high five blocked shots. Additionally, freshman Julien Person scored nine points and junior guard Robert Scott came off the bench and added nine points in just 19 minutes.

AUSTIN POWERS THE SPARTANS

Through 11 games in 2011-12, junior forward Austin Fowler is averaging 15.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Since transferring to CWRU in 2010, the first-team All-UAA and NABC All-District selection has averaged 16.3 points and 6.6 rebounds in 36 games. So far this season, Fowler ranks ninth in the University Athletic Association with his scoring and rebounding season totals.

EARLY IMPACT

The Spartans have seen significant contributions from a number of freshmen thus far in 2011-12, including forward Dane McLoughlin, who is third on the team in scoring at 12.5 points per game with a team-high 22 three-pointers. Guard Jordan Dean leads the team with 40 assists, while guards Julien Person (39) and Ken Gibbons (24) are dishing out helpers at better than two per contest.

DOUBLING UP

Senior forward and captain Tom Summers enters tonight's UAA opener game with 20 career double-doubles including two in the Spartans last three contests. In 82 career games, Summers has averaged 10.1 points and 7.6 rebounds. A 2009-10 All-UAA pick, Summers recently moved into third place all-time in school history with his 12-rebound performance on Friday evening against John Carroll and now sits with 622 rebounds, just 69 shy of tying John Daugherty for second place on the CWRU career leaderboard. Summers also enters tonight's contest against the Tartans with 827 career points.

SCOUTING THE TARTANS

The Tartans end the non-conference porition of their schedule with a come-from-behind 67-64 victory versus Dickinson College on Tuesday, January 3. Sophomore Christian Manoli paced the Carnegie Mellon charge with 20 points, four rebounds and three assists. Senior forward Joe Kromka and sophomore guard Rashaun Riley also scored in double-figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Also of note, Kromka pulled down a team-best seven boards and handed out three helpers. For the season, the Tartans have been outscored by their opponents by an average of 73.7 to 69.1 ppg, and have been out-rebounded 37.1 to 32.7 rpg. Carnegie Mellon shoots .441 from the field, including .380 from three-point range, and .658 from the foul line.

LAST MEETING

The Spartans defeated the Tartans in the 2010-11 regular season finale by a score of 71-54 on Saturday, February 26 inside Horsburgh Gymnasium. Austin Fowler scored 19 points and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds, Reid Anderson contributed 13, and Eric Duerr totaled 10 points, five rebounds and three blocked shots. John Duhring and Matthew Pettit led CMU tying for team-high honors with 14 points.

THE SERIES

The Spartans and Tartans have met exactly 60 times on the hardwood, with Case Western Reserve holding a 33-27 lead in the all-time series. The Spartans have won five straight, including a pair of meetings between the two teams last winter. The first meeting in the series took place during the 1971-72 season and resulted in a 94-67 Spartan victory.

THROWBACK WEEKEND

The Case Western Reserve University Athletic Department will be taking a step back in time during the weekend of February 3-5 when it hosts the seventh annual Throwback Weekend at Horsburgh Gymnasium. Both the Spartan men's and women's basketball teams will be wearing uniforms commemorating Western Reserve University (Red Cats), Case Institute of Technology (Rough Riders), and Mather College. WRU and CIT federated in 1967 to become Case Western Reserve University.

FOLLOW SPARTAN BASKETBALL LIVE

All 2011-12 University Athletic Association home doubleheaders can be viewed on the internet with live video courtesy of CWRU's award-winning MediaVision. Ron Jantz (play-by-play) and Ed Daugherty (color) are back for their seventh season of Spartan Basketball. Live streaming video and statistics will be available for all non-conference home games. Log on to athletics.case.edu for more details.

TARTAN LEADERS

Christian Manoli - 12.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.2 apg

Rashaun Riley - 12.4 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.9 apg

John Duhring - 11.0 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.8 apg

Joe Kromka - 10.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.6 bpg

Asad Meghani - 8.9 ppg, 2.4 apg, 1.8 rpg, 21 3FGM

Marshall Massengale - 4.9 ppg, 10-13 FT

Sean Brophy - 4.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg

Matt Loebbaka - 3.9 ppg, 2.4 rpg