The sixth-ranked Case Western Reserve University men's basketball team saw its 2023-24 season come to a close on Friday afternoon with a 95-75 loss to the 11th-ranked University of Wisconsin - Platteville in the Round of 16 of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship at the MTI Center in Angola, Indiana.

CWRU was plagued by an uncharacteristically poor shooting performance in the contest, finishing the game shooting 38.2% (26-68) from the floor and 34.6% (9-26) from three-point range. Meanwhile, the Pioneers were red-hot in the game, connecting on 55.5% (33-60) of their shots overall and making 53.6% (15-28) from three point range.

Graduate student forward Colin Kahl finished with a team-high 16 points, while graduate student guard Anthony Mazzeo totaled 15 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Senior guard Luke Thorburn added 12 points, eight rebounds and three steals, while junior guard Sam Trunley rounded out the Spartans in double figures with 11 points.

Graduate student guard Preston Maccoux added four points off the bench in the game, reaching 1,000 points for his career with a pair of free throws with 9:48 left in the second half.

Two early threes by junior forward Umar Rashid helped the Spartans jump out to a quick 6-0 lead in the first 90 seconds of the game, and a three by Thorburn gave CWRU a 13-7 lead heading into the first media timeout of the contest. The Spartans remained ahead until the 11:35 mark, when the Pioneers tied the game at 17-17 and eventually took their first lead of the game with 9:38 left on a jumper by Brady Olson that made the score 19-18. The Spartans found themselves trailing by six points with 3:04 to play in the half, but back-to-back layups by Kahl pulled CWRU back within a pair and Thorburn tied the score at 29-29 with a layup of his own with 2:08 remaining in the frame. The game was still tied at 32-32 with under a minute left in the half, but Wisconsin-Platteville scored the final five points of the half to take a 37-32 lead into the break.

A free throw by Thorburn and a three from Mazzeo to start the second half had the Spartans back within a point in the first minute of the frame, but the Pioneers answered back with a 17-4 run to go ahead 54-40 with 15:33 left to play in the game. The Spartans would get as close as nine points over the remainder of the second half, but could not keep up with Wisconsin-Platteville during the period, as the Pioneers connected on 11-of-19 (57.9%) three-point attempts during the frame. The Pioneers led by as many as 29 points in the second half en route to the win.

Friday's loss concludes a historic season for the Spartans, who wrapped up the campaign with a 23-4 overall record, setting the program record for wins in a season for the third-straight year. CWRU also won its second-straight University Athletic Association Championship and reached the NCAA Division III Championship for the third-consecutive season. The Round of 16 finish in the NCAA Tournament also matched the best in the program's history.

Wisconsin-Platteville, which improved to 26-4, will face the winner of the other section game on Friday at the MTI Center between host and 13th-ranked Trine (25-4) and WashU (20-7) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship.