CLEVELAND – Despite leading by 12 with a little more than five minutes left in regulation, the Case Western Reserve University men's basketball team suffered a 90-87 overtime setback to visiting Hiram College on Friday evening inside Horsburgh Gymnasium.
The Spartans drop to 5-4 overall heading into the annual Bill Sudeck Holiday Classic on Friday and Saturday, December 28-29. With the win, Hiram moves to 5-4.
Sophomore forward Dane McLoughlin (Westerville, Ohio/St. Charles Preparatory) led Case with a season-high 22 points, while senior forward Austin Fowler (Farmington Hills, Mich./Birmingham Brother Rice) totaled 16 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
Hiram guard Aaron Stefanov, who hit a buzzer-beater to force overtime, led all scorers in the game with 31 points. Four other Terriers scored in double figures, including Alan Sheppard and Justin Wisniewski with 13 points apiece.
The first half was tightly contested with nine lead changes and seven ties, and neither side built an advantage larger than three. However, the Spartans were able to take a two-point lead into the halftime break as sophomore guard Julien Person (Houston, Texas/Second Baptist) hit a three-pointer as time expired.
In the second, the Spartans scored the first four and led by six when Person nailed a jumper to make the score 40-34 at 18:46. Several minutes later, the lead grew to seven, 51-44, as freshman point guard Jimmy Holman (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) drove to the bucket for a layup with 12:34 left in regulation.
The Spartans then built some breathing room and looked to have the game in hand when Fowler hit two free throws to put the hosts ahead by a game-high 12 (66-54) at 5:17.
However, Hiram refused to go away and came back with a 13-4 run that brought the score to 70-67 as Josh Edmondson hit two free throws at the 1:11 mark. Free throws on the next two possessions gave Case leads of five and four, but an Edmondson triple pulled Hiram to within 73-72 with 14 seconds left on the clock. Holman hit both of his free throw attempts during Case's next trip down the floor, but Hiram took the ball up the court and scored the tying points as Stefanov collected a loose ball and sunk a triple at the buzzer.
In overtime, Hiram opened on a 7-2 run and led 82-77 when Chris Zurowski hit a three-pointer at the 2:56 mark. Case chipped away and got to within 84-83 with two charity shots from Person with 38 seconds left on the clock, but Hiram put the game away by hitting all six of its free throws down the stretch.
The Spartans open next weekend's home holiday tournament versus Alma College (Mich.) at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 28. Case then plays Albion College (Mich.) at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday.