Tartans Overcome Slow Start to Top Maroons, 71-69

Tartans Overcome Slow Start to Top Maroons, 71-69

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) - The Carnegie Mellon University men's basketball team entertained the University of Chicago on Sunday afternoon and overcame a slow start to down the Maroons 71-69. The University Athletic Association (UAA) win moves the Tartans record to 9-11 overall and 4-5 in the UAA. The Maroons, who were tied for the top spot in the UAA heading into play Sunday afternoon, are now 13-7 and 6-3.

Carnegie Mellon shot 42.4% from the floor while Chicago shot 45.2%. The Tartans held a 37-34 edge on the glass marking the 12th time this season the Cardinal and Gray have outrebounded their opponent.

Junior Colin McNeil (Ringoes, N.J./Hunterdon Central Regional) dished out five assists in the win and the junior now has 250 for his career tying him for 10th all-time in program history.

Junior Zach Howarth (Freehold, N.J./St. John Vianney) les the Tartans with 20 points after shooting 8-of-16 from the floor. It marked his third straight 20-point game and sixth of the season. Senior Seth Henry (Fulton, Md./Reservoir) and sophomore Zach Watson (Dublin, Ohio/Jerome) both scored in double figures. Henry scored 15 points and was 7-of-9 from the foul line while Watson chipped in with 10 and was perfect from the charity stripe making all six attempts. Junior Trent Suddeth (Winter Park, Fla./Trinity Prep) hauled down a team-best nine rebounds.

Cole Schmitzled a trio of Maroons in double figure scoring with 20 points. Jordan Baum scored 16 points and Dominic Laravie ended with 10 points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds for the double-double.

The Tartans started slow out of the start missing their first eight field goal attempts and trailed 12-3 four minutes into play. With the score 17-8 at the 13-minute mark, Carnegie Mellon used a 14-2 run over a six-minute span to grab a 22-19 advantage. During the spurt, six different Tartans accounted for the scoring. With 3:36 remaining in the half, a layup by Henry gave the Tartans a 29-27 lead, but the Maroons scored the last six points of the first half and led 33-29 at the break.

Chicago pushed its lead to eight points, 41-33, four minutes into the second half, but the Tartans chipped away at the lead and a triple by Howarth with 9:46 to play in the contest gave the Tartans a 51-50 lead.

From there, the lead changed four more times along with three ties before the home team took the lead for good with 5:04 to play. A layup by Howarth followed by a steal by McNeil and a fast break layup by sophomore Daniel Weiss (Marlboro, N.J.) gave the Tartans a 63-60 edge. The Tartans then sealed the win converting 4-of-5 from the foul line in the closing 1:08 of play, starting with a traditional three-point play by Howarth that made the score 68-64.

Carnegie Mellon will head to Waltham, Massachusetts on Friday, February 8 for an 8:00 p.m. tip at Brandeis University.