Box Score Case Western Reserve University graduate student guard scored a team-leading 19 points, but it was not enough for the seventh-ranked Spartans to avoid their first loss of the season, as the team fell 85-69 to the ninth-ranked University of Rochester Yellowjackets in Rochester, New York on Friday night.
The loss ended the Spartans' 11-game winning streak, one game shy of the longest winning stretch in program history. CWRU fell to 11-1 overall, including a 1-1 mark in University Athletic Association play. Rochester improved to 11-2 with a 1-1 conference mark.
CWRU struggled from long range in the setback, hitting just 22.7% of its three-point attempts on the day and shooting just 39.4% overall. Graduate student guard Danny Frauenheim was a bright spot for CWRU, finishing the game with a team-high 21 points on a nine-for-19 shooting effort and adding eight assists.
Junior forward Ian Elam added 13 points and five rebounds, while sophomore forward Umar Rashid collected a career-high 10 rebounds and finished with seven points.
The Spartans were led in the first half by Frauenheim, who finished the period shooting six-of-12 overall and one-of-two from three-point range to score 15 points over the first 20 minutes of action. However, the Spartans shot just 35.5% as a team during the period, while Rochester was a scoring 60.0% from the floor. Despite the discrepancy, CWRU never trailed by more than five until the closing minutes of the frame and used a 7-0 run to take a 29-25 lead with 4:46 to play in the half. However, the Yellowjackets closed the half on a 17-3 run to go ahead by 10, 42-32, heading into halftime.
A 6-0 run to start the second half put Rochester in front by 16, 48-32, with 18:22 to go in the game. The Yellowjackets took their largest lead of the game with 8:37 left, going ahead 75-51. CWRU got as close as 14 points down the stretch after a traditional three-point play by Elam made it 79-65, but Rochester staved off any further Spartan comeback attempt in the closing minutes.
The Spartans will look to bounce back quickly as the team travels to 16th-ranked Emory University in Atlanta on Sunday to complete their UAA road weekend with a noon tip-off.
