PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- The Washington & Jefferson men's basketball team dropped an 81-73 decision to home-standing Carnegie Mellon University in a non-conference game Saturday at Wiegand Gymnasium in Pittsburgh. 

Kyran Mitchell (Reading, Pa./Berks Catholic) paced the Presidents with 18 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals in the loss. J.R. Mazza (Bridgeport, W.Va./University) finished with 16 points, five rebounds and four assists. Isaiah Langston (Coraopolis, Pa./Cornell) also reached double digits in scoring with 11 points. 

W&J was unable to secure the victory despite a sizable advantage in turnovers. The Presidents forced the Tartans into 29 turnovers while committing just 13. W&J outscored CMU 28-11 in points off of turnovers. 

Despite the disparity in shot attempts, both teams made 27 field goals. The Presidents also held a 40-26 advantage in points in the paint but CMU connected on 11 three-point field goals and converted 16-of-21 free throw attempts. W&J converted on just 52.2 percent (12-23) of its shots at the charity stripe. 

The host Tartans led by as many as 11 points in the first half before taking a 31-26 advantage into the halftime break. W&J battled throughout the second half and trimmed its deficit to one (43-42) on a layup by Dirk Daniels (Phillipsburg, N.J. / Blair Academy) with 13:13 to play. However, CMU stretched the lead to as many as 12 points before finishing off the eight-point victory. 

CMU had five players score in double figures. Jack Stone led the Tartans with 18 points and 11 rebounds. R.J. Holmes added a double-double effort as well. Holmes tallied 16 points and 10 boards. 

W&J continues its three-game road trip to start the season on Tuesday, Nov. 15. The Presidents travel to Bethany College to open Presidents' Athletic Conference play at 7 p.m.