The second-ranked Case Western Reserve University men's basketball team went back-and-forth with 22nd-ranked Washington University (Mo.) on Sunday afternoon in St. Louis, but the Spartans ultimately came up just short, losing in overtime 87-86 in a contest that came down to the final possession of the game.

The loss was the second straight for the Spartans who dropped to 15-3 overall and fell out of first place in the University Athletic Association with a 4-3 league record, sitting one game behind NYU in the standings. WashU moved into a three-way tie for second place in the league with CWRU and Chicago with a 4-3 UAA record and sits at 14-4 overall.

The game came down to the final minute of overtime. With the score tied at 82-82, graduate student guard Anthony Mazzeo hit a layup to give the Spartans the lead. WashU's Kyle Beedon answered with a three with 28 seconds remaining to give the Bears the lead back, but junior guard Sam Trunley responded on the next possession with a turnaround jumper to put CWRU back in front by a point, 86-85, with 12 seconds to play. After a CWRU timeout, the Bears' Hayden Doyle connected on a jumper in the paint to put the Bears ahead 87-86 but gave the Spartans one final opportunity to win the game with five seconds remaining on the clock. Needing to go the length of the court, Mazzeo was able to launch a heavily-defended last chance attempt from three, but the shot just missed and the Bears walked off the court with the narrowest of victories.

Mazzeo led all scorers in the game with 27 points, his eighth game of 25 or more points this season. He finished the contest shooting 12-of-21, including two-of-five from three-point range, and added two rebounds and three assists. Graduate student guard Richie Manigault added 18 points on seven-of-11 shooting overall and four-of-five from behind the three-point line, while graduate student forward Colin Kahl scored 14 with five rebounds. Graduate student guard Preston Maccoux finished with 11 points, four rebounds, and three steals off the bench.

The Spartans led by as many as 16 points in the first half and took a seven-point lead into halftime, in large part due to a long-range attack that saw CWRU connect on 10-of-21 attempts from behind the three-point line during the first 20 minutes of the game. The Bears scored the first six points of the game, but Manigault jump-started the Spartans' offense by connecting on three early threes, the last of which came with 15:33 left in the first half and gave CWRU a 9-8 advantage. The two teams remained separated by no more than two points until a three by Maccoux with 11:37 left in the first gave the Spartans a 21-19 lead and started a 13-0 run for the Spartans that put CWRU ahead 31-19 with 9:07 to play in the period. Manigault's fourth three-pointer of the half helped CWRU take a 16-point lead, 37-21, with 6:13 on the clock, but the Bears were able to whittle away at the Spartans' advantage, and a buzzer-beating three to end the half from WashU's Will Grudzinski made it a 42-35 CWRU lead heading into the break.

Manigault scored the first four points of the second half to increase the Spartans' lead back to 11, 46-35, with 17:19 left in the game, and a jumper by Mazzeo with 12:37 on the clock gave CWRU a 12-point lead, 50-38. However, the Bears would not go away, cutting the lead to a point, 59-58, with 7:44 left, and eventually tying the game at 63-63 with 5:46 left on an and-one.

Although the Spartans never trailed in regulation, it remained close down the stretch. CWRU led by three, 75-72, with 2:16 to go, but was held scoreless the rest of the way, as the Bears pulled within a point on a layup with 2:06 to go and tied the game on a free throw with 53 seconds left. CWRU had two chances to break the tie in the final minute, but a missed free throw on the front end of a one-and-one and a missed three at the buzzer helped to send the game into overtime.

Maccoux opened the extra period with a layup off an offensive rebound to give CWRU the lead, but the Bears scored four straight points to take their first lead since the first half of the game. The teams continued to go back-and-forth, with a layup by Kahl evening the score at 82-82 with 1:26 to play and setting up the thrilling finish, which ultimately went WashU's way.

CWRU led for a total of 31 minutes and 20 seconds in the loss and finished with a 21-12 edge in second-chance points. The Spartans finished the game shooting 45.9% (34-74) overall and 34.4% (11-32) from three-point range.

Sunday's game marked the halfway point in the Spartans' UAA schedule. With seven games remaining both in its regular season and conference slate, CWRU will return home next weekend looking to bounce back against Chicago on Friday night and WashU on Sunday afternoon at Horsburgh Gymnasium.