Dominant Overtime Play Leads Tartans to Season-Ending Victory at Case Western Reserve

(CLEVELAND, Ohio) – A 12-0 run in overtime propelled the Carnegie Mellon University men's basketball team to a season-ending 97-91 win at Case Western Reserve University on Saturday, February 23. The Spartans forced overtime with a last second three-pointer but couldn't stop the Tartans in OT as the Cardinal and Gray finish the year at 11-14 overall and 6-8 in the University Athletic Association (UAA).

Junior Trent Suddeth (Winter Park, Fla. / Trinity Prep) led four Tartans in double figures with 23 points while senior Seth Henry (Fulton, Md. / Reservoir) scored 20 in his final collegiate game. Junior Zach Howarth (Freehold, N.J. / St. John Vianney) contributed 16 points, as sophomore Ethan Miller (King of Prussia, Pa. / Upper Merion) scored 13 with seven coming in the second period. Henry led the Tartans on the boards with a career-best 15 to earn his sixth double-double of the season and 12th of his career.

The Spartans led for most of the first half until Suddeth made two free throws to knot the score at 35-35 with 1:57 to go. From that point, the Tartans used a 6-1 run to lead 41-36 at the break.

With the Tartans leading 54-45, CWRU used a 7-0 run to make it 54-52 with 11:50 to play. The Tartans answered with an 8-0 run to make it a double-digit lead at 62-52 less than two minutes later. Miller drained a corner three in transition off a pass from junior Colin McNeil (Ringoes, N.J. / Hunterdon Central Regional) who drove to the foul line and kicked it out for the shot and his seventh assist of the game on the final points of the run.

The Spartans cut the deficit to four at 64-60 before the Tartans again ran the score to double digits and led 72-61 following a layup by sophomore Zach Watson (Dublin, Ohio / Jerome) with five minutes remaining.

After a jumper by Monty Khela pulled the Spartans to within one point with just over a minute remaining, the Tartans again pushed the lead to three with free throws by Suddeth. Twice more the Spartans pulled within one point in the final minute before Khela drained a deep three-pointer as time expired to send the game to overtime.

The Tartans went to work in the extra frame, scoring on their first two possessions and holding the home squad without a point until they already built a 12-point lead with a minute to go.

Khela led the Spartans with 22 points while Antonio Ionadi scored 17 off the bench, 14 in the first half.