The Case Western Reserve University men's basketball team saw four of its players score in double figures on Sunday afternoon, but it was not enough for the Spartans in a 97-88 loss at the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York.

The Spartans fell to 8-8 overall with a 0-5 University Athletic Association record, while the Yellowjackets raised their record to 9-7 with a 2-3 UAA mark.

Stats and Standouts

• Graduate student guard Ethan Edwards finished with a team-leading 22 points and matched his career-high with eight rebounds. He also dished out three assists to lead the squad and picked up one steal.

• Senior guard Anand Dharmarajan added 13 points with three rebounds, two assists, and a steal.

• Sophomore guard Matthew Ellis scored 12 points during the contest.

• Senior forward Andrew Fox came off the bench to score 10 points.

• First-year forward Alex Vincent had nine points in the game while collecting 12 rebounds and blocking four shots.

• The Spartans finished the game shooting 43.4% (33-76) overall and 30.0% (9-30) from three-point range, while holding Rochester to 39.2% (31-79) overall and 31.0% (9-29) from behind the three-point line.

First Half

• After Rochester opened the scoring with a three-pointer, the Spartans answered back with a 7-0 run, including seven points from Edwards, to go ahead 11-3 by the 16:52 mark.

• The Yellowjackets broke a scoring drought that lasted nearly four minutes with threes on back-to-back possessions to pull back within two points, 11-9, with 15:20 on the clock.

• Rochester was able to get within a point, 16-15, with 13:34 remaining in the half, but Dharmarajan scored eight points during a 10-0 CWRU run to put the team up 11, 26-15, with 12:10 on the clock.

• CWRU stayed in front for the next four minutes, but a 17-3 run by the Yellowjackets saw Rochester grab a 32-29 lead with 7:44 left in the first.

• The Spartans and the Yellowjackets continued to go back and forth for the remainder of the half. CWRU went ahead 38-37 on an Edwards layup with 4:14 to play.

• Rochester scored the next six points to take a five-point lead with 1:41 left, 43-38, and went into the break up four points, 46-42.

Second Half

• Vincent opened the second half with a pair of unanswered baskets to knot the score at 46-46 just over a minute in.

• Ellis scored the next eight points for the Spartans, including a three-pointer with 17:21 on the clock that put them ahead 54-52.

• Rochester followed with a 13-2 run to go ahead 65-56 with 12:47 left in the contest.

• The Yellowjackets led by as many as 11 points in the second half, taking an 11-point lead, 73-62, with 7:47 to play.

• CWRU trimmed the lead to just four points, 73-69, after a basket by Vincent with 5:38 to play in the game. However, that would be as close as the Spartans would get, as Rochester expanded its lead back to 11 points, 86-75, with 2:06 left, and led by as many as 13 points down the stretch before winning 97-88. 

Spartan Notes

• Edwards has scored in double figures in eight-consecutive games for the Spartans, averaging 20.8 points per game during the stretch. He leads the team with 15.7 points per game this season.

• First-year guard Anestis Hadjistamoulou recorded a career-best two steals in the game.

• Vincent averaged a double-double with 10.5 points and 13.0 rebounds per game over the team's two contests this weekend. He leads the team with 8.3 rebounds per game this season.

• CWRU fell to 17-50 all-time against Rochester with the loss, despite winning four of the last six games in the series. It was the Spartans' first loss at Rochester since the 2023 campaign.

Up Next

CWRU will be back on the road next weekend with games at New York University on Friday, January 30, at 5:30 p.m. and at Brandeis University on Sunday, February 1, at 1:00 p.m.