Tartans Suffer Home Loss to #3 WashU

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) – The Carnegie Mellon University men's basketball team hosted No. 3 Washington University in St. Louis on Sunday, January 21, falling 104-70. Sophomore Zach Howarth (Freehold, N.J./St. John Vianney) led the Tartans, now 4-12 overall and 0-5 in University Athletic Association (UAA), with 16 points.

The Tartans shot 50 percent from the floor and hit 7-of-12 from long range but nine first half turnovers put them behind 50-37 at the break.

Washington U. (14-2, 5-0) turned those nine Tartan miscues into 11 points and outscored the Tartans 28-14 inside the paint to take the 13-point halftime lead. Forwards Andrew Sanders and David Schmelter scored 11 and 10 points apiece in the first half, while Jack Nolan hit all four of his three-point attempts to balance the attack for the Bears.

Howarth contributed 10 first-half points for the Tartans while senior Thomas Cook (Baltimore, Md./Carver Arts & Tech) scored eight, including both of his shots from behind the arc.

The Bears didn't slow down in the second half and increased their shooting percentage from .465 in the first half to .506 for the game on their way to 54 second-half points.

Turnovers were a problem for the Tartans Sunday, as they finished with 27 for the game. The Bears also finished with 56 points in the paint and 33 points off turnovers. Nolan led the Bears with 16 points while Sanders and Schmelter each finished with 15 points.

Freshman Zach Watson (Dublin, Ohio/Jerome) finished with a career-best 15 points for Carnegie Mellon, while junior Seth Henry (Fulton, Md./Reservoir) led the Tartans on the glass with eight rebounds.

Carnegie Mellon will travel to New York City to face New York University at Hunter College on Friday, January 26. Tip is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.