CLEVELAND, Ohio – Case Western Reserve University men's basketball junior forward Austin Fowler (Farmington Hills, Mich./Birmingham Brother Rice) scored a team-high 17 points, but it wasn't enough as a 9-0 first-half run from the University of Chicago (Ill.) spurred the visitors to an 85-66 victory over the home-standing Spartans on Sunday afternoon during University Athletic Association play inside Horsburgh Gymnasium.
The Spartans have lost four-straight contests and fall to 8-6 overall and 0-3 in the UAA. The Maroons pick up their second-straight victory improving to 9-5 and 2-1 in the Association.
Over the opening minutes, Chicago raced out to an 11-3 lead with 14:35 left in the opening period as the visitors connected on five of their first nine shots including a pair of three-point field goals. The Maroons were able to maintain a double-digit advantage with the lead swaying between eight to 12 points over the next five minutes. The Spartans cut that lead to five at 21-16 when freshman guard Jordan Dean (St. John's, Fla./Creekside) knocked down a pair of free throws followed by a three-pointer from Fowler on an assist from Dean on the ensuing possession.
The teams traded buckets before Fowler knocked down another triple try shrinking the deficit to six (27-21) with 5:05 showing on the clock. However, Chicago eventually pushed that lead back to double figures to 15 at 36-21 thanks to a 9-0 spurt covering 2:27 of action capped off by a jumper by Matt McKenzie with 2:38 left before the intermission. The visitors maintained that lead, possessing a 42-28 advantage at the break.
Much like the opening 20 minutes, the teams exchanged baskets early in the second with the Maroons maintaining the double-figure lead. Case cut the deficit to 10, at 61-51, on a three-pointer from freshman forward Dane McLoughlin (Westerville, Ohio/St. Charles Preparatory) with 6:28 left. Once again, the visitors ripped off a quick 5-0 run over the next 66 seconds to push the lead back out to 15. From that point on, Chicago cruised to the 19-point win.
On an individual basis, Fowler led the Spartans with 17 points and pulled down four rebounds, while Dean and senior forward Tom Summers (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional) chipped in with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Also of note, sophomore center David Thompson (Plano, Texas/Plano Senior) added nine points and a team-best eight rebounds.
The Maroons were led by Matt Johnson with 19 points while Sam Gage had 14 points and Alex Pyper finished with 12.
As a team, Chicago held a 49-24 advantage on the glass.