Dec 06, 2010
GAMBIER, OH – The Case Western Reserve University men's basketball team erased a 21-point second-half deficit and a five-game losing streak, rallying to beat beat Kenyon College 58-54 on Monday, December 6 at Tomsich Arena.
The Spartans improved to 2-5 overall as sophomore forward Austin Fowler (Farmington Hills, MI/Brother Rice) led the offense with 18 points and eight rebounds, while senior center Eric Duerr (Gibsonia, PA/Pine-Richland) chipped in with his first double-double of the season, scoring 11 points and tallying 13 rebounds. Sophomore guard Tim Chung (Cypress, CA/Los Alamitos) and senior wing Reid Anderson (Avon Lake, OH/St. Edward) both added nine points.
The Yeomen were led by Kodey Haddox's game-high 24 point output, but fell to 4-4 with the loss.
Anderson came out hot, opening the scoring with a three as Case jumped out to a 3-0 lead. The Spartans still led by three, at 10-7, following an Anderson jumper at the 15:07 mark, but Case would not score for the next 4:31 as Kenyon grabbed the lead away at the 13:14 mark on a three by Marcus Healey.
Duerr ended the rut and tied the game back up at 12-12 with a layup with 11:36 left in the first, but Case fell into another scoreless spell spanning 2:15 as Kenyon regained the lead 15-12. It was still a two point game with 8:08 to go when Haddox hit a three to kickstart a 22-5 Kenyon run, which left Case staring at a 41-24 halftime deficit.
Both teams came out of the break slow, but Kenyon was able to establish its biggest lead, at 45-24, before the Spartans scored their first point of the half on a Fowler free throw at the 16:52 mark. Then 25 seconds later, Fowler added a key layup to jumpstart the Spartan offense.
With 15:11 to go, Chung connected on a trey to make the score 45-30. The two teams traded baskets over the next two minutes, but a Fowler layup with 10:51 on the clock began a 15-3 Spartan run over the next 3:24 that whittled the Kenyon lead all the way down to one point at 50-49.
The Spartans finally snagged the lead, at 54-52, with 3:43 to play on a jumper by junior forward Tom Summers (Murrysville, PA/Franklin Regional). A Fowler lay-in with 1:51 remaining would extend the advantage to four, at 56-52, but Kenyon answered with 45 seconds left on a Brian Lebowitz layup to set up a dramatic finish.
Fowler committed a turnover with just 15 seconds on the clock, but Kenyon's Haddox could not convert on a three-point try, which forced the Yeomen to foul Fowler with three seconds remaining in regulation. Fowler then converted on two free throws to seal the 58-54 win.
CWRU will now have a 12 day layover in-between games and will play next at home against Hiram College on Saturday, December 18. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.