Serbin’s Double-Double Leads Tartans to Victory at the Carnegie Mellon / DoubleTree Invitational

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) - Sophomore Jack Serbin's (New Albany, Ohio) fourth double-double of the season, 26 points and 13 rebounds, led the Carnegie Mellon University men's basketball team to a 102-68 victory over the visiting Lion of Penn State Beaver on the second day of the 2014 Carnegie Mellon/DoubleTree Invitational.  The Tartans improve to 7-0 for the first time since the 2008-09 season while the Lions drop to 0-6.

Carnegie Mellon took a 50-30 lead into the locker room following a 65.5% shooting effort over the first twenty minutes of play.  Serbin led the Tartans at the break with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting to go along with five first half blocks.  

Tartan sophomore Matt Hillman (Gaithersburg, Md./Sidwell Friends) scored the opening bucket of the game, as the home team never looked back starting the contest on a 10-2 run.  Carnegie Mellon used a 17-2 run late in the first half to break the scoring open.  During the stretch, five different Tartans scored and a pair of foul shots by senior Seth Cordts (Amherst, N.H./Souhegan) at the end of the run gave the Tartans their largest advantage of the first frame.  
 
The first seven minutes of the second half was evenly matched before the home team used a 25-8 run over a seven minute stretch to secure the victory.  Carnegie Mellon's largest lead of the contest came on a layup by senior Matt Loebbaka (Mt. Prospect, Ill./Prospect) with 3:21 to play which put the Tartans ahead 95-60.

Carnegie Mellon ended the game shooting 59.0% from the floor to the Lions 37.1%.  The Tartans bench scored 40 for the Tartans while Beaver managed just eight bench points.  The Tartans held the edge on the glass for the sixth time this season hauling down 48 rebounds to the Lions 26.

Serbin was named Most Valuable Player of the invitational and Cordts earned a spot on the all-tournament team.  Serbin's 26 points and 13 rebounds were season highs while the sophomore recorded a career-best seven blocks.  Cordts cashed in with 15 points in Sunday's victory after tabbing a game-high 19 on Saturday.

Junior Blake Chasen (Chevy Chase, Md./Phillips Exeter (N.H.)) and senior Jasen Blakney (Raleigh, N.C./Enloe) each turned in a career-high with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Murcus Smith, who was named to the all-tournament team, paced the Lions with 28 points.  Lamont Wright ended the game with 15.

Carnegie Mellon will be idle until Thursday, December 18 when La Roche College comes to Skibo Gymnasium for a 7:00 p.m. tip.