Tartans Fall in High Scoring Affair with #8 Washington U.

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) - The Carnegie Mellon University men's basketball team hosted #8 Washington University Sunday, January 26 in a University Athletic Association (UAA) contest in Skibo Gymnasium.  The Tartans were setback by the Bears 94-81 dropping their overall mark to 9-7 and 2-3 in UAA play while Washington moves to 14-2, 5-0.

Washington turned five Tartan turnovers during the first 2:35 of the contest into a 9-0 lead.  Carnegie Mellon cut the lead to four at 23-19 with 11 minutes to play following a layup by senior Christian Manoli (San Rafael, Calif./Terra Linda), but the Bears answered scoring 12 straight points and grabbed their largest lead of the half, 35-19.

The Tartans fought back using an 11-2 run that cut the lead to 42-36 with 3:46 on the clock in the first half.  During the run four different players scored for Carnegie Mellon, as senior Rashaun Riley (Houston, Texas/Cypress Creek) end the run with a long ball.  

At the break with the score 48-41 in favor of the visitor's, Carnegie Mellon shot 60.7% from the field while the Bears shot 60.0% and were 6-of-10 as a team from behind the arc to the Tartans 3-of-8 effort.

The Bears pushed their lead back to double digits with 13 minutes to play, as they used a 13-4 run to grab a 69-52 lead.  Junior Seth Cordts (Amherst, N.H./Souhegan) then sparked the Tartans scoring five straight points which turned in nine for Carnegie Mellon. The run cut the lead to 69-61, but Washington then scored on its next two possessions to extend the advantage back to double figures at 75-61 with 6:40 left in the contest.

Once again the Tartans worked themselves back into the game with a 12-3 run late to cut the lead to 84-76 with 1:16 to play, but Washington was a perfect 10-of-10 from the foul line down the stretch to seal the 94-81 victory.

Carnegie Mellon shot 49% from the floor to the Bears 52%.  The Tartans were led by Manoli's 22 points while senior Rob Mohen (Stamford, Conn./Regis (NY)) finished with 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Riley ended the game with a season-high five assists.

Five Bears scored in double figures with Matt Palucki and Chris Klimek leading the way with 27 and 22 points, respectively.

Carnegie Mellon will entertain New York University on Friday, January 31.  Tip is set for 8:00 p.m.