Case Western Reserve University senior forward Ryan Newton tipped in a rebound as the final buzzer sounded, giving the Spartans a thrilling 89-88 win over Carnegie Mellon University in the teams’ opening game of University Athletic Association play on Saturday in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The win gave the Spartans a program-record setting 11-straight victories (surpassing the previous program record of 10-straight wins set during the first season of CWRU basketball in 1971-72), as the team improved to 11-1 overall on the season, extending the best start in the program’s history. The Tartans fell to 6-4 with the loss.

Newton’s tip-in as time expired capped off an impressive comeback for the Spartans, who trailed by as many as 16 points in the second half of the game and were down by six points with under two minutes remaining. Trailing 86-80 with 1:35 left, CWRU began its final and deciding surge, cutting the Carnegie Mellon lead to two, 86-84, by the 1:01 mark after a pair of free throws by graduate student guard Mitch Prendergast and a put back by senior guard Robert Faller. After a free throw by CMU extended its advantage back to three, Faller responded with a three off an offensive rebound by Prendergast, knotting the score at 87-87 with 35 seconds to play.

A foul on the other end of the floor by Faller with 13 seconds remaining sent Carnegie Mellon’s Josh Berry to the line, who made his first attempt but missed the second. R.J. Holmes collected the offensive rebound on the miss, but Faller forced the tie-up, and with the possession arrow favoring the Spartans, earned the steal to give CWRU the ball back with 10 seconds left a chance to win the game. A jumper from just outside the paint by junior forward Cole Frilling with two seconds remaining just missed the mark, but Newton was able to tap the ball back up into the cylinder as time expired, giving the Spartans the one-point victory.

Newton finished the game with 13 points and three rebounds off the bench. Prendergast led all CWRU players with 23 points on a nine-of-17 shooting performance overall, including three-of-eight from long range, with five rebounds and four assists. Faller scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half of the game, shooting eight-of-12 overall and two-of-two from behind the three-point line, while adding seven rebounds. Frilling added 11 points and nine rebounds for the Spartans, and graduate student guard Griffin Kornaker had a team-best five assists.

The game-winning tip-in by Newton gave CWRU its first lead since the 12:10 mark of the first period. The Spartans led by as many as four points in the early going of the game, taking the lead with 18:45 left on the clock on a jumper by Faller, and holding the lead for the next six and a half minutes.

However, the Tartans would catch fire as the half went on, using a 9-0 run to go past the Spartans and take a 22-17 lead with 11:19 left in the first half. Carnegie Mellon continued to build its lead throughout the remainder of the period and scored the final eight points of the first half to carry a 47-34 lead into the break.

Carnegie Mellon took its largest lead of the game with 18:06 to play, going ahead 54-38, and remained ahead by 16 points, 58-42, with 16:15 to play. CWRU trimmed the gap back down to single digits by the 12:50 mark, cutting the Tartans’ lead to 60-52 on a hook shot by Newton. Down 76-70 with 6:09 left, Kornaker was able to convert an and-one and Prendergast knocked down a three on back-to-back possession to knot the score with 5:34 left. However, the Tartans answered with a three of their own, and CWRU would remain behind until Faller’s three with 35 seconds left evened the score again, setting up the dramatic final seconds of play.

CWRU finished the game shooting 43.0% (34-of-79) overall, including 32.1% (nine-of-28) from behind the three-point line. The Spartans held advantages in points in the paint (46-40), rebounds (47-41) and bench scoring (24-7).

Jack Stone led all Carnegie Mellon scorers with 23 points, while Nick Nakasian (22 points, 12 rebounds) and R.J. Holmes (16 points, 10 rebounds) each registered double-doubles.

The win was the Spartans’ first victory on the road against the Tartans since the 2016 season.

The Spartans will continue conference play next Friday, January 14 when the team travels to New York City to face New York University. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m., and no spectators will be allowed at this time. In addition, the Spartans’ scheduled game against Brandeis, originally slated for Sunday, January 16, was postponed earlier in the week.