Tartans Finish Road Weekend With Win Over Union

Dec. 10 - (SCHENECTADY, N.Y.) - Senior forward Marques Johnson (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) scored a career-high 27 points in helping the Carnegie Mellon men's basketball team to a come from behind 79-75 win at Union (N.Y.) College Saturday, December 10. Johnson started a 12-0 game ending run by the Tartans, which propelled them to a school best 9-0 start as Union drops to 3-2.

Carnegie Mellon, coming off a 110-83 victory at Skidmore College Friday, found themselves in the whole early when Union took off to a fast start building a 16-6 lead on a three-pointer by Brian Scordato at the 14:10 mark of the first half. Union would hold tight to their lead until the Tartans tied the score for the first time on a trey by freshman guard Corey O'Rourke (Merion, Pa./St. Joe Prep) with 3:24 to go in the first period. Senior guard A.J. Straub's (St. Marys, Pa./Elk County Catholic) third three-pointer of the half gave the Tartans their first lead, 36-35, not quite two minutes later.

Union would ride a 40-38 halftime lead on 50% shooting from the field and build their lead back to 13 points, 62-49, on a three-pointer by Joseph Mackey halfway through the second half.

Johnson scored 17 of his 21 second half points over the final 10 minutes and scored two crucial baskets with under two minutes to play. Johnson tied the game at 75-75 with a lay-up and 1:44 to go before putting the Tartans on top for good on their next possession with a lay-up off an assist from senior forward Nate Maurer (Pittsburgh, Pa./Linsly School). Maurer also played an important scoring roll in the comeback going 4-4 from the charity stripe over the last three minutes, including two with four seconds to play, giving the Tartans a four-point cushion.

For the second straight game, Carnegie Mellon was strong on the boards grabbing 20 offensive rebounds on their way to a 46-35 advantage on the glass. Those 20 offensive rebounds turned into 23 second chance points.

Maurer finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds for his first double-double of the season, as Straub dropped in 14 points on the afternoon. Senior forward Clayton Barlow-Wilcox (Brookline, Mass.) grabbed 11 rebounds and Johnson totaled nine, while sophomore guard Geoff Kozak (Huntingdon, Pa.) dished out four assists.

Union was led by John Cagianello's 24 points. Scordato and Darcy Bonner also finished in double figures with 17 and 14 points, respectively. Chris Murphy handed out a game-high 10 assists in the last minute loss.

The Tartans will take their unbeaten record on the road again on Wednesday, December 28 when they travel to Division I Ivy League member Princeton University for a 7:30 p.m. tip.