Behind a career-high 28-point effort from graduate student guard Mitch Prendergast, the 24th-ranked Case Western Reserve University men's basketball team defeated Brandeis University 80-66 on Sunday at Horsburgh Gymnasium in Cleveland, Ohio, matching the program record for wins overall and University Athletic Association victories in a single season.
With the victory, the Spartans now stand at 17-4 overall on the season, matching the mark for wins in a season previously set by the 1984-85 and 1998-99 teams. CWRU also improved to 7-3 in the conference, giving the team its most-ever wins in a 14-game UAA schedule, and matching the record for UAA wins in a season, set by the 1999-00 team which finished the conference schedule with a 7-8 record. The Spartans are currently in second place in the UAA.
Brandeis dropped to 10-8 overall with a 2-6 conference record.
After the team turned in its worst shooting performance of the season in Friday night's loss to NYU, the Spartans bounced back in a big way on Sunday. CWRU finished the game shooting 56.1% (32-of-57) overall and 52.4% (11-of-21) from three-point range. Prendergast made 10-of-16 shots overall and fell just one three short of matching the program's single game record, hitting six-of-10 shots from long range. Junior forward Cole Frilling added 16 points, shooting six-of-nine overall and three-of-five from behind the arc. Senior forward Ryan Newton connected on six-of-seven shots for 13 points with five rebounds, and graduate student forward Brian Hines notched his first double-double as a Spartans with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Graduate student guard Griffin Kornaker dished out 10 assists on Sunday and is now just 14 assists away from matching the program's season record with three games left to play.
The Spartans came out firing in the first half, connecting on 53.3% (16-of-30) shots overall and five-of-10 from behind the three-point line. Frilling and Prendergast combined for 21 of the team's 42 first half points, while Newton came off the bench to score eight, including two dunks. CWRU grabbed its first lead of the game on a layup by Frilling with 16:04 to play in the period, going ahead 10-8, and did not trail again in the game. Brandeis cut the Spartans' lead to a point, 21-20, with 6:16 to go, before a 19-7 run by the Spartans opened up the score. Prendergast connected on a three and a layup on back-to-back possessions for CWRU with a minute left, giving the Spartans a period-high 13-point lead, and CWRU went into halftime leading 42-31.
Brandeis hit the first two baskets of the second half to cut the Spartans' lead back to single digits, but back-to-back layups by Hines and a three by Prendergast pushed CWRU's advantage back to 14, 49-35, with 18:15 to play in the game. Prendergast would go on to score 18 points in the second half of the game, powering the Spartans' offense to the victory. CWRU led by as many as 22 during the game, going ahead 80-58 on a second chance basket by Hines, on its way to a 14-point win.
With three games left in the season, the Spartans will now turn their attention toward a key two-game road trip next weekend, the team's final two road contests of the regular season. Case Western Reserve is scheduled to face 18th-ranked Emory at 5:30 p.m. on Friday night, followed by a 12:00 p.m. game at Rochester next Sunday.