PITTSBURGH – Sophomore forward Dane McLoughlin (Westerville, Ohio/St. Charles Preparatory) and senior forward Austin Fowler (Farmington Hills, Mich./Birmingham Brother Rice) tied for game-high honors with 22 points apiece as the Case Western Reserve University men basketball team rallied from 19 points down with just over 13 minutes left to play en route to a 76-73 victory at Carnegie Mellon University in the 2013 University Athletic Association opener on Saturday evening inside Skibo Gymnasium.
The Spartans improve to 8-4 overall and 1-0 in the UAA and will continue Association play on Friday, January 11 at New York University. Tip-off in the Big Apple is set for 8:00 p.m.
With the loss, the Tartans drop to 2-9 and 0-1 in the Association.
In addition to his 22 points, Fowler added 14 rebounds for his 15th career double-double, while sophomore guard Julien Person (Houston, Texas/Second Baptist) and junior guard Tim Chung (Cypress, Calif./Los Alamitos) chipped in with 15 and 12 points, respectively.
The two sides traded buckets and small leads over the opening minutes of the first half. With a lay-up from Chung at the 11:44 mark, the visitors held their largest lead of the opening stanza at 17-13. However, the Tartans answered with a 15-0 run over the ensuing 4:45 of action and held a 28-17 edge after a jumper by Rob Mohen.
The CMU edge then grew to 13, 36-23, on a three-point field goal from Andre Moore at 2:36. Undaunted, the Spartans were able to chip away at the lead and worked it down to five, 38-33, via an "old-fashioned" three-point play from Fowler with 24 ticks left before half. CMU's Asad Meghani then knocked down a trey just before the break to give the hosts a 41-33 edge.
In the second half, the Tartans scored 13 of the first 15 points and held their largest lead of the contest at 19, 54-35, with 13:48 left. Over the next 3:22 of play, the hosts were able to keep the Spartan charge in check and led 58-43 with 10:26 showing in regulation.
Not done yet, Case began its comeback bid and rattled off a 22-6 run covering a span of 7:38 and collected its first lead of the second half, 65-64, with 2:48 left on a three-pointer from Person via an assist from freshman guard Jimmy Holman (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer). Rashaun Riley connected on a jumper and gave CMU a brief one-point lead just seconds later, 66-65, but McLoughlin canned a three during Case's next possession as the vistors' advantage grew to as many as eight in the final minutes in the thrilling come-from-behind victory.
For the game, CMU placed a trio in double figures led by Meghani's 20 points, while Mohen and Seth Cordts added 18 and 11, respectively.
Following Friday's game at NYU, the Spartans continue their first UAA weekend road trip of the year at Brandeis University (Mass.) on Sunday, Jan. 13 at 12:00 p.m. in Waltham, Massachusetts.