Men’s Basketball Doesn’t Rebound from Slow Start, Fall 86-70 at Chicago

(CHICAGO, Ill.) - The Carnegie Mellon University men's basketball team traveled to the Windy City on Friday and dropped an 86-70 to the University of Chicago in University Athletic Association (UAA) play. Carnegie Mellon moves to 6-17 overall and 2-10 in UAA play and the Maroons are now 11-12 and 7-5.

Carnegie Mellon shot 40.0% from the floor and Chicago finished shooting 52.5%. Sophomore Zach Howarth (Freehold, N.J./St. John Vianney) led the Tartans with 15 points and was a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe. Junior Seth Henry (Fulton, Md./Reservoir) and sophomore Colin McNeil (Ringoes, N.J./Hunterdon Central Regional) each chipped in with 14 points. Henry shot 7-of-10 from the floor while McNeil shot 6-of-10 and handed out six assists. Senior Ryan Maha (West Mifflin, Pa.) ended the game with 11 points. Junior Patrick Ehland (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) hauled down a game-high 10 rebounds.

Collin Barthel led Chicago with 13 points. Ryan Jacobsen score 12 and Jake Fenlon and Noah Karras each had 11.

Carnegie Mellon converted 2-of-14 shots from the floor over the first 10 minutes of play while the Maroons converted 8-of-16 and led 18-4. The Tartans then made two straight shots, including a traditional three-point play by Howarth and then a long ball from Maha to make the score 18-10 with nine minutes to play. With the score 22-14, Chicago used a 7-2 run to open its lead back to double digits, which was maintained the rest of the half. The Maroons took a 40-26 lead into the locker room after shooting 50.0% (18-of-36) from the floor to the Tartans 30.0% (9-of-30).

The Tartans used an 8-0 early in the first half to cut the deficit to 45-37 with 15:27 on the clock. Three minutes later, a jumper by Henry in the lane made the score 52-45 Maroon. Carnegie Mellon continues to climb back into the game. A long ball by senior Thomas Cook (Gwynn Oak, Md./Carver Arts & Tech.) and a layup by McNeil made the score 57-54 with 9:24 to play.

Over the next two minutes Chicago scored nine straight points and once again pushed its lead to double figures at 66-54. The home team sustained its lead and went on for the 86-70 victory.

The Tartans will continue UAA play on Sunday, February 18 with an 11:00 a.m. CT tip at second-ranked Washington University in St. Louis.