Case Western Reserve University senior guard Sam Trunley and senior forward Umar Rashid combined to score 52 points on Monday but it was not enough for the Spartans who dropped a 102-97 contest to the University of Pittsburgh-Bradford in the finale of the E.M. "Mose" Hole/ Wooster Kiwanis Classic in Wooster, Ohio.

CWRU ended non-conference play with a 4-7 overall record, while Pitt.-Bradford raised its record to 9-1 for the campaign.

Trunley finished the game with 29 points on an eight-of-18 shooting effort, including five-of-12 from behind the three-point line, en route to earning All-Tournament honors. He added six rebounds, four assists, and a steal in the loss. Rashid recorded his fifth double-double of the campaign, finishing the game with 23 points (one shy of his season high) and 14 rebounds with three assists, two steals, and a block.

Graduate student forward Andy Barba finished with 14 points and six rebounds, while first-year Matthew Ellis scored a career-high 14 points on six-of-nine shooting from the floor, including two-of-four three-point tries, with a pair of steals. Sophomore guard Charlie Fox added six points and a team-high six assists in the game.

Rashid, Trunley, and Barba combined to score all but 10 of the team's points in the first half to help guide the Spartans to a 53-47 advantage by halftime. CWRU jumped out to a 7-2 lead behind threes from Barba and Trunley, but the Panthers came back to tie the score at 7-7 and grabbed a 20-12 lead with 14:12 left in the period. Rashid helped the Spartans bounce back, scoring nine straight points for CWRU and tying the game at 22-22 with 11:38 left. Down by four with 9:27 remaining in the period, a 9-0 run by the Spartans, featuring seven points from Rashid, put CWRU back ahead 34-29 with 7:06 remaining. The game remained close throughout the half, but the Spartans took the lead on a pair of free throws by Rashid with 2:58 to play in the first, eventually building an eight-point lead, 51-43, on a three by Ellis with 48 seconds on the clock, before closing out the frame with a six-point lead.

Rashid led the Spartans with 18 points and nine rebounds in the first half, with Trunley scoring 14 and Barba 11.

The game was close in the second half but CWRU remained in front until the Panthers tied the game at 75-75 with 12:08 left in the contest. It remained a one-possession game for nearly the entirety of the rest of the game with the two teams jockeying for the lead. With the Spartans down by three with 4:29 left on the clock, Ellis connected on a three to knot the score, and on the next possession, Trunley was fouled on a successful layup and made the ensuing free throw to give CWRU a 94-91 lead with 4:09 left. However, Pitt.-Bradford tied the game with a three on their next possession and the Spartans never led again in the game, as the Panthers took the lead on a layup with 2:19 left and held off CWRU for the rest of the contest.

The Spartans will now shift their attention to the start of University Athletic Association play, which will begin on Saturday, January 13. CWRU will begin their conference slate against 19th-ranked Carnegie Mellon University at Horsburgh Gymnasium with the tip-off scheduled for 1:00 p.m.

Spartan Notes

• The Spartans shot 42.9% (33-77) from the floor on Monday, including 31.9% (15-47) from three.

• Rashid's block on Monday was the 121st of his career, tying him with former Spartan Eric Duerr (2007-11) for the third most in program history. He is now three away from Julien Person (2011-15) for the second-most, and 34 short of David Thompson's (2010-14) school record.

• Trunley, who is averaging a team-high 24.1 points per game, scored at least 20 points for the eighth time through 11 games this season.

• CWRU fell to 1-1 all-time against Pitt.-Bradford. This was the second straight season the two teams have played after CWRU won 104-73 to open the 2023-24 campaign.