CLEVELAND – Senior forward Austin Fowler (Farmington Hills, Mich./Birmingham Brother Rice) eclipsed 1,000 career points and led six Spartans in double figures with a game-high 25 as the Case Western Reserve University men's basketball team outlasted Albion College (Mich.), 90-82, on the final day of the 2012 Bill Sudeck Holiday Classic at Horsburgh Gymnasium.
The Spartans conclude the non-conference portion of the schedule at 7-4 and are idle from competition for the next week. With the loss, the Britons drop to 4-7.
Fowler's 25 points were accompanied by 10 rebounds, giving the senior captain his 14th career double-double. Fowler now has 1,004 points in 61 games in a Spartan uniform. Prior to transferring to Case as a sophomore, Fowler scored 22 markers at Division I Saint Francis University (Pa.).
In addition, sophomore forward Dane McLoughlin (Westerville, Ohio/St. Charles Preparatory) scored 17, while freshman point guard Jimmy Holman (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) tallied 13 points and a season-high seven assists.
Fowler was tabbed as the Sudeck Classic Most Valuable Player, and McLoughlin was named to the all-tournament team.
The two sides traded buckets and small leads throughout the first 12 minutes of the game, but the Spartans were able to build a brief four-point edge when McLoughlin nailed a three-pointer, while being fouled, and converted the ensuing free throw to make the score 30-26 at the 7:47 mark. The Brits then came right back with four straight to open an 8-2 run that put the visitors ahead 34-32 as Carter Elliott scored via a layup at 5:49.
Less than two minutes later, that run extended to 13-4, and the Brits led by a high of five when Eric Evans hit a three-pointer to make the score 39-34 at 4:25. Case answered with a quick 9-4 run and tied the score at 43 with a triple from junior guard Tim Chung (Cypress, Calif./Los Alamitos) at 1:50, but Albion was able to regain the lead at 46-45 heading into the halftime break.
In the second half, the Spartans grabbed the early advantage to start another span with multiple lead changes. But, with the score tied at 57-57, Case picked up back-to-back three-pointers from Chung at 13:02 and 12:08. The Spartans then maintained a four-point edge before Albion reeled off five straight and led 68-67 after an Evans triple at 7:55.
The score would tie once more at 74-74 prior to the Spartans moving ahead for good beginning with two Fowler free throws at 4:22. Holman later hit key baskets to make the score 78-75 at 3:51 and 80-75 at 3:13, and the visitors were unable to cut their deficit below four for the duration. A pair of Fowler charity shots with two seconds left provided the largest lead of the game, 90-82.
For the game, Albion placed five in double figures led by Jordan Herron and Evans, an all-tournament selection, with 20 and 19, respectively.
The Spartans open their University Athletic Association slate on Saturday, January 7 at rival Carnegie Mellon University (Pa.) at 5:00 p.m. inside Skibo Gymnasium.