Tartans Win Home DoubleTree Invitational with 83-65 Victory Over Mary Washington

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) - The Carnegie Mellon University men's basketball team won the 27th Annual Carnegie Mellon DoubleTree Invitational on Sunday with an 83-65 victory over the Eagles of the University of Mary Washington. The Tartans have now won three straight contests and are 3-1 overall while the Eagles were handed their first loss of the season and move to 4-1.

Sophomore Colin McNeil (Ringoes, N.J./Hunterdon Central Regional) was named the Most Valuable Player of the invitational while senior Ryan Maha (West Mifflin, Pa.) and junior Seth Henry (Fulton, Md./Reservoir) landed a spot on the all-tournament team. McNeil poured in 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting and tied a career-high with six assists. The sophomore also grabbed a career-best eight rebounds and recorded a career-high two block shots. Maha scored a game-high 19 points and connected on 4-of-6 from behind the arc. Henry finished with 13 points and tied a career-best with 12 rebounds to record his third career double-double.

Carnegie Mellon continued to have the hot shooting hand on Sunday, as the Tartans shot 52.7% from the floor to the Eagles 34.8%. The Tartans owned the glass, hauling down a season-best 48 rebounds to Mary Washington's 28. Junior Patrick Ehland (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) tied a career-high with 10 rebounds and added seven points. Sophomore Trent Suddeth (Winter Park, Fla./Trinity Prep) finished with a season-best eight boards.

Mary Washington was led by Mark Madison's 15 points. Eric Shaw and Khiorie Stewart chipped in with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Carnegie Mellon got off to a hot start and connected on its first three shots to take the early 7-0 lead at the 17:29 mark of the first half. The two teams played back-and-forth basketball over the next 10 minutes. With the Tartans leading 18-14 with 7:27 to play in the half, the Cardinal and Gray closed the half on an 18-3 run to take a 36-17 halftime lead. Carnegie Mellon shot 61.9% from the floor in the first half while holding the Eagles to 19.4%.

The Tartans started the second half on a 9-2 run to gain their largest lead of the afternoon at 26 (45-19) with 17:42 on the clock. Over the next 3:28, Mary Washington used a 13-3 run to cut the lead to 48-32. The visitor's would pull to within 13 points on two occasions the remainder of the game. The last coming with 1:32 to play in the game to make the score 78-65, but the Tartans scored the last five points of the game and went on for the 18-point victory.

Carnegie Mellon will be back on the hardwood on Wednesday, November 29. The Tartans will host Allegheny College for an 8:00 p.m. tip.