CLEVELAND – Senior forward Dane McLoughlin (Westerville, Ohio/St. Charles Preparatory) scored 19 points, and the Case Western Reserve University men's basketball team became the first in program history to start a season 9-2 after a 76-65 victory versus Muskingum University on Wednesday night at Horsburgh Gymnasium.

McLoughlin hit four three-pointers to move into a tie for second place on the CWRU career leaderboard with 192. His night was made extra impressive considering he spent most of the day on the road while interviewing for medical school.

Including McLoughlin, 10 different Spartans scored in the game. Freshman forward Eric Black (Avon Lake, Ohio/Saint Ignatius) contributed 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting, while junior guard Matt Clark (St. Louis, Mo./St. Louis Preparatory) added 10.   

The Fighting Muskies (4-8) were led by Joshua Glass and Joshua Keyes with 19 and 14 points, respectively.

For the game, the Spartans held decided advantages in points off of turnovers (20-3) and bench scoring (41-6).

Both teams started fast in the opening minutes, but the Spartans gained the upper hand with an 11-2 run that bumped their lead to 27-14 as Clark hit a layup with 10:02 on the clock. The Muskies then outscored the Spartans 8-0 over the next 6:03, pulling to within 27-22 when Logan Kimble hit a free throw at 3:59. The duration of the half saw the visitors twice cut their deficit to three, but the Spartans were able to score the final six, including a layup at the buzzer by senior point guard Jordan Dean (St. Johns, Fla./Creekside), to get to the locker room with a 37-28 advantage.

In the second, the Muskies scored the opening five and got within two when Keyes hit a jumper at 17:46. The game remained tight for the next seven minutes, but the Spartans rode a quick 6-0 run and bumped their advantage to 61-50 following a Klements layup with 8:59 remaining. The hosts remained in control for the duration.  

Now finished with non-conference action, the Spartans open University Athletic Association play versus rival Carnegie Mellon University this Saturday, February 28 at 5:00 p.m. in Pittsburgh.