Box Score The 23rd-ranked Case Western Reserve University men's basketball team nearly erased a 10-point deficit with under three minutes remaining on Sunday afternoon, but could not complete the comeback in a 76-68 loss on the road in St. Louis, Missouri to ninth-ranked Washington University (Mo.).
The loss dropped the Spartans to 16-3 overall on the season, including a 6-2 record in the University Athletic Association, while the Bears improved to 15-3 overall with a 5-2 conference record. It also resulted in a split of the season series between the two teams, after CWRU bested the Bears in Cleveland last Sunday.
The Spartans showed tremendous resiliency on Sunday, overcoming an 11-point deficit in the first half of the game to take a one-point lead going into halftime, in addition to trimming the Bears' late 10-point lead to just three. Down 69-59 with under three minutes left in the game, graduate student guard Griffin Kornaker hit a pair of free throws to cut the Bears' lead to eight with 2:50 to play, and after senior forward Ryan Newton blocked a shot on the defensive end, he was able to hit a layup on the other side of the floor to trim the advantage to 69-63 with 2:04 left. Junior forward Cole Frilling then stole the ball on the Bears next possession, setting up a three by graduate student guard Mitch Prendergast with 1:29 remaining that pulled CWRU back within three points, 69-66. However, that would be as close as the Spartans could get down the stretch, as the Bears connected on seven of their eight free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.
Newton came off the bench to hit six-of-11 shots overall and three-of-five three-point attempts to lead all Spartans with 15 points, while adding five rebounds and three blocks. Prendergast scored 13 on Sunday, while Kornaker and graduate student forward Brian Hines each netted 10 points.
Spartans trailed by as many as 11 in the opening half but used a 14-4 run over a four-minute stretch to tie the score, knotting the game at 27-27 with 4:12 left in the frame on a three-pointer by Kornaker. After the Bears regained a three-point lead, CWRU answered again, as Kornaker and sophomore guard Luke Thorburn connected on back-to-back threes, and a pair of free throws by sophomore forward Hunter Drenth gave the Spartans a 35-30 lead with 1:55 left in the first half. Washington followed with a 6-0 run to regain a one-point advantage, but a layup by Prendergast in the final seconds of the half gave CWRU a 37-36 lead going into halftime.
However, the Bears took the lead on their first possession of the second half, and never trailed again, forcing the Spartans to unsuccessfully play catch-up the rest of the game.
Washington's Justin Hardy led all scorers in the game with 28 points and added seven rebounds in the victory.
The Spartans will return home for Throwback Weekend next week, as CWRU will host New York University on Friday and Brandeis University on Sunday.
