Long Range Shooting Advances Tartans to Championship Game of DoubleTree Invitational

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) - The Carnegie Mellon University men's basketball team used long range shooting and free throws to top Frostburg State University, 87-73, in the opening round of the Carnegie Mellon DoubleTree Invitational on Saturday. The Tartans advance to the championship game on Sunday when they'll face ninth-ranked Hamilton College.

The Tartans shot 49.2% from the field and 45.0% from behind the arc with nine made three-pointers in their first win of the season to move to 1-3 for the year. The home team also outrebounded Frostburg State by nine and scored 15 fastbreak points.

Junior forward Trent Suddeth (Winter Park, Fla. / Trinity Prep) led the Tartans with a career-high 20 points, scoring 17 in the first half, as the Cardinal and Gray built a 15-point halftime lead. He connected on three shots from distance and hit 8-of-11 total from the field. Senior guard Seth Henry (Fulton, Md. / Reservoir) scored 16 points on 7-of-9 shot attempts and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds along with sophomore forward Ethan Miller (King of Prussia, Pa. / Upper Merion). Miller recorded his first career double-double with a career-best 10 points  to go with his career-best 10 rebounds while it marked Henry's second double-double this season. Sophomore Zach Watson (Dublin, Ohio / Jerome) put in 12 points, eight coming from the free throw line, with junior Cooper Williams (Meriden, N.H. / Kimball Union Academy) also reaching double figures with 10 points.

Suddeth scored the first eight points of the game for the Tartans which gave the home squad an 8-6 advantage and a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Midway through the first period a 10-0 run put the Tartans ahead 25-12.

The Bobcats pulled to within eight points, 57-49, with 12:50 to play in the game but the Tartans answered with a 10-3 run to make it 67-52 two minutes later.

Just when it looked like the Bobcats might bring the game back to single digits, sophomore Daniel Weiss (Marlboro, N.J. / Marlboro) drained a three-pointer to make it 78-65 with just more than five minutes to play. The Tartans held the double-digit lead until the final buzzer, making three additional baskets from the field to go with 3-of-4 shooting from the free throw line.

The Tartans will host ninth-ranked Hamilton, 73-63 winners against Transylvania University earlier today, in the championship game at 3:00 p.m.