Box Score The Case Western Reserve University men's basketball team won its third-straight game Saturday afternoon, defeating La Roche University 85-79 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The win raised the Spartans' record to 3-1 on the season, while La Roche dropped to 0-2.
Graduate student Mitch Prendergast led the team in scoring with 18 points on a five-of-10 shooting effort. Senior Ryan Newton scored 17 points on an efficient seven-of-nine shooting performance, while junior Cole Frilling scored 14 points and added eight rebounds and three assists. Graduate student guard Griffin Kornaker finished the game with 12 points, six rebounds and a team-high seven assists, while graduate student Brian Hines narrowly missed out on a double-double with nine points and a season-high 11 rebounds.
CWRU shot 41.2% overall, including 33.3% from behind the three-point line.
The Spartans trailed by as many as eight points in the opening half, falling behind 22-14 with 8:59 to play in the first period. However, CWRU would take the lead with a 9-0 run over the next three and a half minutes, tying the game on an offensive rebound and a layup by Hines, and taking a 23-22 lead on a free throw by Hines with 5:22 to play in the period. The Spartans led by as many as four in the closing minutes of the half and took a 33-31 lead into halftime.
CWRU went on to score the first 11 points of the second half, including two three pointers by senior guard Robert Faller and one by Prendergast, taking a 44-31 advantage with 17:46 left in the game. Later in the half, another three by Prendergast gave CWRU a 62-41 lead, their largest of the game, with 12:04 to play.
La Roche cut into the Spartans lead, and cut it to as few as two points, 79-77, with 16 seconds left to play in the game. However, CWRU went 10-for-10 from the free throw line in the closing minute of the game and pulled away on free throws late to lock in the six-point win.
The Spartans will return to Cleveland to open up a four-game home stand, when the team plays host to Thiel College on Tuesday, November 16 at 7:00 p.m.
