The Case Western Reserve University men's basketball team overcame a double-digit deficit in the second half to take a late lead on Saturday afternoon, but ultimately could not hold on for the victory in an 83-76 loss to the 13th-ranked College of Wooster at Horsburgh Gymnasium in Cleveland.

The loss was the fourth straight for the Spartans who fell to 3-4 overall while Wooster claimed its seventh-consecutive win to start the campaign.

Senior forward Umar Rashid led all CWRU players with 23 points and added 14 rebounds for his second-straight double-double and fourth through seven games this season. Rashid finished the game shooting nine-of-19 from the floor, including four-of-11 from behind the three-point line, and added three blocks and a pair of assists.

Graduate student guard Nicholas Schiavello added 13 points in the game, and senior guard Sam Trunley finished the contest with 12 points, three assists, and five rebounds. Junior forward Aaron Rucker, who made the first start of his career on Saturday, scored six points on a three-of-three shooting effort, including a go-ahead basket with 1:43 left in the second half that gave the Spartans their only lead of the contest.

CWRU did not have an answer for the Fighting Scots early on, as Wooster scored the first six points of the game and built a 20-6 lead with 14:19 on the clock in the first half. An 18-9 run by the Spartans, keyed by made three-pointers from Rashid, graduate student forward Andy Barba, and sophomore guard Drey Fox, helped CWRU cut Wooster's lead to 29-24 by the 9:53 mark. However, the Scots were able to push the lead back to double-digits before the end of the half, going ahead 44-31 with 2:39 left in the frame and taking a nine-point lead, 44-35, into halftime.

The Spartans trailed by 12 points, 52-40, with 17:03 to go before an 8-0 run, capped by a three from Rashid with 14:47 left in the game, made it a four-point game. Another three by Rashid with 9:56 left made it a one-point game, 59-58, but Wooster again responded, building its advantage to nine points, 73-64, with 5:48 to go.

CWRU did not go away quietly, going on one final run to take their first and only lead of the game. A 12-2 spurt by the Spartans, culminating in the go-ahead layup by Rucker, put the team in front for the first time on Saturday, 76-75 with 1:43 to play. However, Rucker's basket would prove to be the last of the day for the Spartans, and Wooster scored the final eight points of the game to secure the seven-point win.
 

The Spartans will continue their three-game home stand on Wednesday, December 11 when the team hosts Hiram College at 7:00 p.m.

Spartan Notes

• CWRU finished the game shooting 44.4% (28-63) overall and 34.4% (11-32) from three-point range, compared to 48.5% (33-68) overall and 34.6% (9-26) from behind the arc for the Fighting Scots.

• Rashid now has 111 career blocks, moving him into fourth place all-time in school history. He is 10 blocks away from matching former Spartan Eric Duerr (2007-11) for the third-most in program history.

• Saturday's game was the first meeting between the Spartans and the Scots since the 2002-03 campaign. CWRU dropped to 5-41 all-time against Wooster, including losses in each of the last 24 meetings dating back to the 1989-90 campaign.

• The loss was the Spartans' first at Horsburgh Gymnasium since March 4, 2023, against Wisconsin-Whitewater in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, ending a stretch of 16 straight wins at home. It was the first regular season home loss for the Spartans since January 22, 2023, against Chicago (ending a stretch of 18-straight wins) and its first home regular season non-conference loss since November 6, 2021, against Wisconsin-Eau Claire (ending a 20-game streak).