CLEVELAND, OH – Despite a game-high 23 points from sophomore forward Austin Fowler (Farmington Hills, MI/Brother Rice), the Case Western Reserve University men's basketball team suffered an 80-71 defeat at the hands of Washington University (MO) on Sunday, February 6 at Horsburgh Gymnasium. The Spartans wore Case Institute of Technology uniforms as part of Throwback Weekend at Case.
The Spartans fall to 8-12 overall and 4-5 in the University Athletic Association. Washington improves to 11-9 and 5-4 in the UAA.
In addition to Fowler's 23, senior wing Reid Anderson (Avon Lake, OH/St. Edward) totaled 15 points and five rebounds, while freshman point guard Mike Byrne (Newton, PA/Holy Ghost) chipped in six points and a career-high eight assists. Fellow freshman guard Tim Chung (Cypress, CA/Los Alamitos) scored 14 – all in the final 9:47.
The Bears were paced by Caleb Knepper with 19 points and Spencer Gay with 16 points and nine boards.
Case's first three baskets came from beyond the arc before Fowler gave his team its first lead of 11-10 with a layup at 14:04. The game remained tight until Washington finished the half on a 15-4 run, ending on a three-pointer by Ben Hoener that made the score 37-25 with 23 seconds left on the clock.
In the second half, the Spartans opened on a 17-9 run and got to within 46-42 when Anderson sank a three-pointer at 12:49. Washington increased its lead back to seven before Chung got hot with three triples and 11 straight points to put the Spartans ahead 55-54 with 7:44 left to play. The Bears went right back on top, however, at 57-55 when Dylan Richter canned a three of his own at 7:26.
The Spartans briefly tied the game at 57 when Fowler scored two on a layup at 6:15, but Washington was able to answer with an 8-2 run, culminating in another Richter three-pointer that made the score 65-59 with 4:28 remaining. The Spartans were never able to recover as the Bears held on for the win.
The Spartans wrap up the road portion of their schedule with a two-game trip at New York University on Friday, Feb. 11 and Brandeis University on Sunday, Feb. 13. Tip-off on Friday is set for 8:00 p.m.