Case Western Reserve University senior guard Sam Trunley scored a game-high 28 points and senior forward Umar Rashid added a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds, as the Spartans pulled off the upset win over 24th-ranked Carnegie Mellon University, defeating the Tartans 89-67 on Saturday afternoon to open University Athletic Association play at Horsburgh Gymnasium in Cleveland.

The Spartans, who never trailed in Saturday's game, put a three-game losing streak to bed with the win, improving to 5-7 overall and to 1-0 in league play. Carnegie Mellon suffered just its third loss of the season, dropping to 9-3 overall and 0-1 in the conference.

Trunley led all scorers on Saturday, shooting 11-of-21 overall and four-of-nine from long range with seven rebounds, a team-high six assists, and three steals. In addition to the double-double, Rashid also collected a career-best five steals with four assists while making five-of-16 shots overall and three-of-nine from long range.

First-year guard Matthew Ellis came off the bench to score a career-best 15 points and graduate student forward Andy Barba scored 13 points with three assists in the game.

CWRU started quick in the game, building a 19-9 lead seven minutes into the contest after a three by junior guard Anand Dharmarajan. The Spartans led by as many as 12 in the first half, going ahead 24-12 after a jumper by Trunley, accounting for two of his team-leading 13 points in the half, with 10:12 left, but Carnegie Mellon responded with a 12-4 run to cut the Spartans advantage to just four points with 5:37 remaining in the period. Five-straight points from sophomore guard Drey Fox and a fast break dunk off a turnover by Rashid pushed CWRU's lead back to double-digits with 3:54 left in the half, and the Spartans closed out the period with a six-point lead, 39-33.

Barba, Rashid, and Trunley each his threes in the first two and a half minutes of the second half to put CWRU up 48-35 early in the frame. The Spartans maintained a double-figure lead for the rest of the game, buffering their lead with eight-straight Spartan points from Trunley to go ahead 65-48 with 10:22 left. The Spartans led by as many as 27 in the second half after a layup by Rashid off a turnover put CWRU in front 85-58 with 3:40 left, and the team went on to claim the 22-point win over the Tartans.

The Spartans shot 47.4% (20-35) from the floor on Saturday, including 57.1% (20-35) in the second half alone. CWRU made 12-of-35 three-point attempts (34.3%) and forced 17 Carnegie Mellon turnovers while committing just eight. Justin Allen led all Tartan scorers on Saturday with 19 points.

The Spartans will continue conference play next weekend, traveling to face fifth-ranked Washington University (Mo.) in St. Louis, Missouri on Friday, January 17 at 6:30 p.m. ET and the University of Chicago on Sunday, January 19 at 3:00 p.m. ET in Chicago.

Spartan Notes

• CWRU improved to 47-40 all-time against the Tartans. This was the Spartans' second-consecutive win over Carnegie Mellon after besting the Tartans 76-75 at home in their regular season finale last year to clinch the UAA Championship. CWRU extended its home winning streak to five straight games against Carnegie Mellon.

• Saturday's win was the Spartans' first against a nationally-ranked opponent this season. The team's last win against a ranked opponent was a 97-79 victory over then-22nd-ranked Hope College in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year. Its last regular season win against a ranked opponent was a 74-59 win over then-17th-ranked WashU on February 4, 2024.

• The Spartans finished the game with a +10 rebound margin, finishing with a 40-30 edge over the Tartans on the glass.

• Rashid's block on Saturday was the 122nd of his career, the third most in program history. He is now two away from Julien Person (2011-15) for the second-most and 33 short of David Thompson's (2010-14) school record.

• Saturday's effort was the ninth time through 12 games this season that Trunley has scored at least 20 points in a game. With 28 points in the game, he became the 25th player in program history to eclipse 900 career points.