Case Western Reserve University Head Men's Basketball Coach Todd McGuinness earned his 200th career win as the 13th ranked Spartans defeated Eastern University 82-72 on Saturday to claim the Bill Sudeck Tournament Championship held inside Horsburgh Gymnasium in Cleveland for the second straight season.
CWRU opens the season with a record of 2-0 while the Eagles fall to 1-1 overall. McGuinness improves to 200-141 as a head coach with 86 of his wins coming during his eight seasons in Cleveland.
Junior forward Umar Rashid recorded his first double-double of the season, pulling down a team-high 14 rebounds and scoring 16 points. He also added a team-high four blocks. Senior forward Hunter Drenth came off the bench to lead the Spartans with 17 points, making six of his seven shots. A pair of graduate students, guard Richie Manigault (12 points) and forward Colin Kahl (10 points), each scored double figures, with Kahl bringing down eight boards. Senior forward Ian Elam led the squad with five assists and added eight points, and graduate student guard Anthony Mazzeo contributed four assists and eight points.
Kahl was named the Tournament's Most Valuable Player, and Drenth also earned selection to the All-Tournament Team. They were jooined on the All-Tournament Team by Waynesburg's Antone Baker, Pitt.-Bradford's Jamarion Butler, and Eastern's Zubair Lee.
The Spartans, 104-73 winners on Friday night over Pitt.-Bradford, trailed early, going down 13-4 six minutes into the contest. A 10-0 run, including three-pointers by junior guard Sam Trunley and Manigualt, gave CWRU a 14-13 lead. The teams traded the lead over the next six minutes before a 7-0 Spartan run put the hosts ahead with under three minutes remaining in the half. Rashid scored four of the team's points in the run with Drenth adding a three-pointer. Case Western Reserve would not trail for the rest of the half, leading 37-30 at the break.
The Spartans had trouble with the Eagles press at the beginning of the second half, not making a field goal for the first six minutes of the frame. Eastern opened a five-point lead during the stretch, 44-39, and held the advantage until Elam drained a three-pointer in transition to give Case Western Reserve a 49-48 lead. An Eastern layup put the visitors back in front, but Drenth drained his second three of the game to make the score 52-50 in favor of CWRU. It was a lead the hosts would not relinquish for the remainder of the contest.
Eastern was able to cut its deficit to two with 6:16 remaining in the contest. Three quick scores with a trio of defensive stops pushed the CWRU advantage to eight, 68-60. A three-pointer by Rashid with 1:21 left gave the Spartans a 76-65 lead, sealing the win.
As a team, the Spartans made 46.6.% of their shots (27-for-58) and held the Eagles to a 34.7% (26-for-75) rate from the field. CWRU secured 47 rebounds, compared to 36 for Eastern, and the Case Western Reserve bench outscored their Eastern counterparts 46-13.
The Spartans will next play their first road contest of the 2023-24 season, heading to Pittsburgh on Wednesday to face La Roche at 7 p.m.
