Men’s Basketball Falls 70-47 to #8 Washington U.

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) - The Carnegie Mellon University men's basketball team dropped a 70-47 decision to the visiting Bears of Washington University in St. Louis on Friday, January 27. The University Athletic Association (UAA) setback leaves the Tartans record at 9-8, 3-3 while the Bear remain unbeaten in UAA play at 6-0 and are 14-3 overall.

Carnegie Mellon end the night shooting 31.4% from the floor to Washington's 36.4%. The bears forced 19 Tartan mishaps and turned them into 20 points while Carnegie Mellon forced 11 turnovers and came away with four points.

Freshman Colin McNeil (Ringoes, N.J./Hunterdon Central Regional) led Carnegie Mellon with 11 points while senior Chris Shkil (Mentor, Ohio/Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin) contributed 10 points and recorded two blocks.

The Bears were led by Andrew Sanders with 22 points. David Schmelter tabbed a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, as he also added four blocks.

Carnegie Mellon started the came on a 7-0 run before pushing its lead to 17-7 at the midway point of the first half. During that stretch, the Tartans held the Bears to 2-of-17 from the floor. Over the next five minutes, the Bears converted 5-of-6 from the floor and cut the deficit to 21-17.

A put-back layup by Carnegie Mellon freshman Trent Suddeth (Winter Park, Fla./Trinity Prep) with 4:22 to play made the score 23-17. Washington then score the last nine points of the half, including a three-point basket by Kevin Kucera at the buzzer, and took a 26-23 lead into the locker room.

Three minutes into the second half a pair of free throws by freshman Zach Howarth (Freehold, N.J./St. John Vianney) made the score 32-28 in favor of the visitor's. Over the next eight minutes, the Bears used a 25-5 run and led, 53-33, and never trailed by less than 16 points the rest of the contest.

Carnegie Mellon will welcome the University of Chicago to Skibo Gymnasium on Sunday, January 29 for a 12:00 p.m. tip.