The 10th-ranked Case Western Reserve University men's basketball team dropped a battle of two of the top teams in Division III, falling to 11th-ranked New York University 93-80 at the Paulson Center in Manhattan, New York, on Friday night.
The Spartans fell to 17-4 on the season and 6-4 in University Athletic Association contests. The Violets improved to 18-3 overall and 8-2 in the UAA to gain a two-game lead over CWRU in the conference standings with four contests remaining in the regular season.
Graduate student forward Preston Maccoux led Case Western Reserve with 19 points, shooting seven-of-13 from the field and three-of-seven from beyond the arc. Four additional Spartans scored in double figures, led by junior guard Sam Trunley with 13 points. Adding 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds was graduate student forward Colin Kahl, and graduate student guard Anthony Mazzeo contributed 12 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. Junior forward Umar Rashid also scored 12 points in the game and contributed a pair of rebounds and a steal.
The hosts used an early 6-0 run to lead 15-8 six minutes into the game. Midway through the half, a dunk put the Violets ahead by eight, 23-15. Rashid made a three-pointer two minutes later to cut the Spartan deficit to five, but a 7-0 NYU run increased the hosts' advantage to 13. CWRU ended the first half on a 10-4 run, highlighted by three-pointers from Maccoux and Trunley, to make the score 43-36 at the break.
Case Western Reserve started the second half on an 8-0 run to take a 44-43 lead, the team's first advantage since the game's opening minutes. The Spartans held the Violets scoreless for the first 4:47 of the frame, but a three-pointer broke the drought and put NYU ahead by two. The score started an 11-0 run for the Violets to give the team a double-digit advantage. A pair of free throws from graduate student guard Richie Manigault midway through the half brought the Spartans within six but the hosts responded to increase their advantage to 11 less than a minute later.
A three-point play by Kahl started five straight scoring possessions for both teams, with the Spartans and Violets trading three-pointers. A jumper from Mazzeo and three-pointer from Maccoux cut Case Western Reserve's deficit to six, 67-61, with 7:39 left. NYU immediately responded with five straight points with the Spartans unable to close the deficit further for the rest of the game.
Overall, the Spartans made just 39.1% of their shots and 35.1% of their attempts from three-point range. Meanwhile, the hosts converted 50.0% of their shots and 58.3% of their chances from beyond the arc. NYU held a slight 36-35 edge in rebounding, and each team received 34 points from non-starters.
The Spartans will play their final road game of the regular season on Sunday, traveling from New York to Waltham, Massachusetts, to face Brandeis at 12 p.m.
