HUNTINGDON, Pa. - Junior forward Dane McLoughlin (Westerville, Ohio/St. Charles Preparatory) scored a game-high 26 points, and senior center David Thompson (Plano, Texas/Plano Senior) posted his sixth-straight double-double as the Case Western Reserve University men's basketball team edged Johns Hopkins University (Md.) by a score of 81-77 in the opening game of the 2013 Juniata College Holiday Tournament. 

The Spartans improve to 7-2 and are just one win away from tying the 2011-12 and 2005-06 squads for the best 10-game start in program history.  

McLoughlin's 26 points, accompanied by eight rebounds, came on 10-of-19 shooting from the field. Thompson tallied 20 points and matched a game high with 13 rebounds.  

The Spartans trailed 37-35 at halftime and 48-38 when Blue Jays (4-5) forward George Bugarinovic scored two of his 19 points on a layup with 16:04 left to play. An 18-8 Spartan run followed, and McLoughlin tied the game at 56 with a second three-pointer in a row at 9:58. Overall, the final 10 minutes were tightly contested with neither side building a lead of larger than five. Thompson put the Spartans ahead for good, 76-75, with a three-point play at the 1:15 mark.  

Sophomore point guard Jimmy Holman (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) went 5-of-6 from the free throw line to seal the victory in the final minute. The second-year point guard finished with nine points and a team-high five assists.

The entire game was tight throughout, but Johns Hopkins led by five with 10:07 left in the first half. Case was able to battle back and took a 29-27 lead at the 5:30 mark thanks to three-pointers from McLoughlin and senior guard Tim Chung (Cypress, Calif./Los Alamitos). However, it was the Blue Jays that would eventually take a two-point advantage into the half.

Johns Hopkins increased its lead early in the second half, but the three-point shooting of McLoughlin and the dominant inside play of Thompson, junior guard Julien Person (Houston, Texas/Second Baptist) and junior forward Connor Edel (Akron, Ohio/Revere) got the Spartans back in the game.

Chung finished with 10 points points, while Person and Edel contributed eight and six points, respectively.

The Spartans will play again tomorrow in the tournament championship game at 4:00 p.m. versus the winner of Valley Forge Christian College (Pa.) versus Juniata.