Tartans Fast Start Doesn’t Hold in Setback to Allegheny

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) - The Carnegie Mellon University men's basketball team hosted the Gators of Allegheny College on Wednesday night and dropped a 78-63 contest on the hardwood in Skibo Gymnasium. The Tartans are now 3-2 while the Gators hold the same mark.

Carnegie Mellon opened the contest with a 16-9 lead nine minutes into play following a long ball by sophomore Zach Howarth (Freehold, N.J./St. John Vianney). Allegheny responded and used an 8-2 run to pull within a point at 18-17 two minutes later, but three straight triples by Howarth gave the home team a 10-point lead with seven minutes to play in the half.

Following a timeout by Allegheny, the visitor's used a 17-4 run over the next four minutes to take a 34-31 lead and never trailed the rest of the night. A mid-court shot by Lamar Todd as the buzzer sounded to end the half put the Gators on top 41-36 at the break.

Allegheny pushed its lead to 48-41 two minutes into the second half before junior Patrick Ehland (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) scored five straight points for the Tartans and made the score 48-46. Following a triple by Allegheny and a pair of foul shots by Ehland, the Gators put together a 16-2 run over a stretch of seven minutes to extend the lead to 67-50 and never looked back.

Carnegie Mellon shot 371% (23-of-62) from the floor while Allegheny finished the game shooting 50.8% (30-of-59) from the field, including 10-of-13 (43.5%) from three. Howarth led the Tartans with a season-best 18 points, as he tied a career-high with four three-point buckets. Ehland finished with 14 points and led the Tartans with seven rebounds.

Billy Urso led the Gators with 18 points. Todd and Jamison Nee both finished with 13 and 12 points, respectively, while Jordan Rawls chipped in with 10.

The Tartans are back in action on Monday, December 4 when they host the Eagles of Juniata College. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m. in Skibo Gymnasium.