The second-ranked Case Western Reserve University men's basketball team suffered just its second loss of the season, falling 85-75 at the University of Chicago on Friday night.

Despite the loss, the Spartans remained in first place in the University Athletic Association, staying a game ahead of both Carnegie Mellon and NYU with a 4-2 conference record. CWRU dropped to 15-2 overall, while Chicago improved to 11-6 overall with a 3-3 UAA ledger.

Graduate student forward Colin Kahl led all players in the game with 20 points, his fifth effort of 20 or more points in a game this season. He finished the game shooting seven-of-18 overall and three-of-seven from behind the three-point line while adding six rebounds. Junior guard Sam Trunley came off the bench to add 17 points, three assists, and two steals, while graduate student guard Anthony Mazzeo finished with 14 points, four assists, and three steals. Junior forward Umar Rashid scored eight points on Friday while collecting 12 rebounds and three blocks.

Chicago controlled the pace of the game early going ahead by seven points, 15-8, with 15:28 left in the period. Six quick points for the Spartans cut the lead back to one with 12:59 to go, but the Maroons maintained their lead until the 9:56 mark when a layup by graduate student guard Richie Manigault put CWRU in front 18-17. The Spartans found themselves back down by three, 29-26, with 5:11 left in the first half, but three-point shots on back-to-back possessions by Kahl and Mazzeo gave CWRU the lead back and started a 10-0 run that saw the Spartans take a 36-29 lead by the 2:42 mark. CWRU went on to outscore the Maroons 14-2 over the final five minutes of the period, making six-of-nine shots from the floor and holding Chicago to just one-of-seven shooting during the stretch, to take a nine-point lead, 40-31, by halftime.

However, the Spartans struggled to keep pace with a hot-shooting Maroons team over the final 20 minutes, as Chicago shot 71.4% (20-28) overall and made six-of-eight three-point attempts (75.0%) during the second half. Meanwhile, CWRU started the second half cold from the floor, going scoreless over the first five minutes of the period. It opened the door for the Maroons to score the first 10 points of the stanza to take a one-point lead, 41-40, with 15:15 to go. Rashid broke the ice for CWRU with a three to give CWRU the lead back with 15:01 to play, but Chicago responded with six more points in a row to go ahead 47-43. The Spartans answered back with a two from Trunley and a three off a steal from graduate student guard Preston Maccoux to regain the lead 48-47 with 13:09 left, but Chicago responded with threes on back-to-back possessions to take the advantage back.

The Maroons remained ahead for the remainder of the game. Although the Spartans did pull back within a point, 62-61, on a three by Kahl with 5:52 to play, Chicago again had an answer, going on a 12-4 run to go ahead by nine points, and the Spartans would not get closer than five points for the remainder of the game.

The Spartans finished the game with a 30-24 edge in points in the paint and a 19-5 advantage in second-chance points, as CWRU outrebounded Chicago 15-5 on the offensive glass. However, it was not enough for the Spartans to counter the Maroons' hot shooting, as Chicago finished the game with a 53.3% mark from the floor compared to 40.3% for the Spartans, and a 44.0% mark from three compared to CWRU's 37.5%.

The Spartans will wrap up their four-game road swing on Sunday afternoon when the team travels to St. Louis for a 1:00 p.m. ET tipoff against 22nd-ranked WashU.