Despite a record-setting performance from graduate student guard Mitch Prendergast, the Case Western Reserve University men's basketball team fell to sixth-ranked University of Mary Hardin-Baylor 89-84 in overtime on Friday night in the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship Sectional Semifinal in front of a sold-out out crowd inside Horsburgh Gymnasium in Cleveland, Ohio.

Case Western Reserve ends the best season in program history with a record of 20-7. The 2021-22 squad became the first team to reach the NCAA Tournament and earned the program's first-ever postseason wins. The 20 wins are a program-best, as are the eight conference wins. The team also finished second in the conference standings, a program best.

Prendergast tied a career-high with 32 points, including 20 in the first half, and set a single-game program record with eight three-pointers. He finished nine-of-18 (50.0%) from the field and eight-of-15 (53.3%) from beyond the arc. Prendergast's season will go down as one of the greatest in program history. His 93.2% (82-for-88) free throw percentage is a new program record, and his 78 three-pointers are the most by a Spartan in a single season. Prendergast tied the three-point mark early in the second half and broke the record with 2:28 remaining in regulation to put CWRU ahead 71-70. The previous single-season three-point record belonged to former Spartan Dane McLoughlin, who made 77 during the 2014-15 campaign. He also made 92.3% of his free throw attempts that season, the previous single-season school record.

Graduate student forward Brian Hines, who scored nine points and collected eight rebounds, finished the season shooting 69.6% (87-for-125) from the field, setting a new single-season program record with a minimum of 50 makes. Former Spartan Greg Badowski held the previous record, making 89 of his 138 shots for a 64.5% mark.

The Crusaders (28-2) advance to the sectional final on Saturday at 8 p.m. inside Horsburgh Gymnasium against Elmhurst University, who defeated Calvin University 79-77 in the earlier game in the sectional.

The Spartans started the game with an 8-2 run, energizing one of the largest crowds in the history of Horsburgh Gym. The Crusaders tied the game at 8, but CWRU opened a seven-point lead on a three-pointer from sophomore forward Hunter Drenth. UMHB tied the score at 22 midway through the first half.

A few minutes later, Josiah Johnson followed with a three-pointer to give Mary Hardin-Baylor its first lead since the team scored the opening basket. Prendergast responded with a three of his own to put the Spartans back ahead 30-29. After the Crusaders retook the lead, CWRU used a 9-0 run to take an eight-point lead with less than two minutes to go in the half. UMHB cut the deficit to two, but a Drenth layup gave the Spartans a 41-37 halftime lead.

Case Western Reserve opened a 12-point lead, 53-41, early in the second half on a layup from senior guard Robert Faller. The Crusaders chipped away at the deficit, eventually taking a 62-61 lead with just over eight minutes remaining in regulation. The teams played an intense final eight minutes in the jam-packed gym, and UMHB forced overtime with a pair of clutch free throws to tie the score at 75 with less than a second left in regulation.

In overtime, Prendergast scored five points and took half of the Spartans shots, but Johnson finished the game on a 7-0 run to put the Crusaders one win away from the Final Four.

Prendergast led all scorers and tied for the team lead with a career-high eight rebounds. Senior forward Ryan Newton filled the stat sheet, scoring 13 points off the bench, while collecting five rebounds, four assists, three steals, and a block. Junior forward Cole Frilling added 12 points, four rebounds, four assists, and two steals, while graduate student guard Griffin Kornaker led the team with seven assists.

CWRU shot 47.6% from the field and 44.1% from three-point range. The hosts also collected 45 rebounds, 12 more than UMHB.