Tartans Open Home Slate with Setback to Mount Union

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) - The Carnegie Mellon University men's basketball team host the University of Mount Union on Tuesday and dropped an 82-71 contest on the hardwood of Skibo Gymnasium. The Tartans are now 0-3 while the Raiders move to 4-1.

Carnegie Mellon shot 50.0% (23-46) from the floor for the second consecutive game while Mount Union shot 47.7% (31-65). Four Tartans scored in double figures with senior Seth Henry (Fulton, Md./Reservoir) leading the charge with his third straight 20-point game after shooting 5-of-7 from the floor and converting all eight of his free throws.

Junior Zach Howarth (Freehold, N.J./St. John Vianney) finished with 11 points while classmate Cooper Williams (Meriden, N.H./Kimball Union Academy) and sophomore Zach Watson (Dublin, Ohio/Jerome) each chipped in with 10. Howarth led the Tartans with seven rebounds while dishing out a career-best six assists.

Mount Union turned 16 Tartan mishaps into 23 points while the Raiders turned the ball over five times with Carnegie Mellon scoring two points. Tommy Stenger led the Raiders with 24 points on 10-of-18 shooting and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.

Both teams were hot early from the floor, as the first five shots of the game were from behind the arc with Mount Union connecting on three and Carnegie Mellon on two. The hot hand continued for the home team as they took their largest lead of the contest at the seven-minute mark, 34-25, after connecting on 12-of-15 from the floor over the first 13 minutes.

The Raiders then scored six straight points before Howarth drained his third triple of the first half and junior Trent Suddeth (Winter Park, Fla./Trinity Prep) scored on a layup to push the lead to 39-31. Mount Union then scored five of the last six points of the half to cut the Tartans lead to 40-36 at the break.

A jumper by Suddeth at the 16:28 mark of the second half extend the Tartans lead to 48-41. Over the next five minutes, the Raiders used a 15-2 run to take their first lead of the game since the five-minute mark of the first half and never looked back. The visitor's lead grew to as many as 14 points before going on for the 82-71 win.

The Tartans will host the Carnegie Mellon DoubleTree Invitational on Saturday, November 24, with a game against Frostburg State University at 3:00 p.m. while Hamilton College will play Transylvania University at 1:00 p.m. in the first day of play.