Box Score Case Western Reserve University senior Cole Frilling recorded the sixth double-double of his career with a game-high 24 points and 10 rebounds, leading the 19th-ranked Spartans to a season-opening 78-72 win over Denison University on Tuesday night inside Horsburgh Gymnasium in Cleveland, Ohio.
The Spartans now stand at 1-0 on the season, while Denison dropped to 0-1.
Frilling shot nine-of-21 in the game, including two-of-eight from long range, and filled out the box score with a pair of assists and a team-high three steals. Three other Spartans scored in double figures in the game, led by junior guard Luke Thorburn, who finished the game with a career-high 14 points and six rebounds. Sophomore guard Sam Trunley and sophomore forward Umar Rashid finished with 11 points apiece, and graduate student guard Danny Frauenheim added eight points and a game-high seven assists in his Spartan debut.
CWRU led by as many as eight points in the first half, going ahead 21-13 on a jumper by Thorburn with 10:44 left in the frame. However, Denison battled back and took the lead with 3:31 left in the half and held it for the remainder of the period, going into the break with a 35-32 edge.
Denison continued to lead until the 16:33 mark in the second period when Thorburn evened the score at 37-37 with a layup, but the Big Red answered with a three to regain the advantage. CWRU responded with a layup by Thorburn and a steal and a breakaway basket from Frilling to take their first lead of the half, 41-40. The teams continued to battle back and forth, but a layup from Rashid with 10:21 left broke a 52-52 tie and put the Spartans ahead for good.
The game remained close throughout, and Denison would get as close as two points, 67-65, with 3:17 to go, but a jumper by Frilling followed by a three from Trunley put the Spartans ahead by seven, 72-65, with 1:16 to play, helping to secure the win.
Despite struggling from behind the three-point line (five-of-24) the Spartans still shot 42.2% for the game (27-of-64) and converted 82.6% of their free throws (19-of-23) for the win.
The Spartans will continue a stretch of four-straight home games to start the 2022-23 campaign on Friday, November 11 when CWRU plays host to the Bill Sudeck Tournament. CWRU will take on Oberlin in the opening game of the tournament on Friday at 7:00 p.m.
