Men’s Basketball Late Run Not Enough in 69-65 Loss
Stats
Dec. 20 – (PITTSBURGH, Pa.) – The Carnegie Mellon men’s basketball team rallied from 16 down in the second half to take the lead, but could not hold off the Beavers of Bluffton University, Wednesday, December 20 in Skibo Gymnasium, falling 69-65.
Bluffton (9-1) built an 8-2 lead off a jumper from sophomore guard Colt Cunningham five minutes into play. The Tartans (5-3) would cut the Beavers deficit to three early in the first half on a lay-up by sophomore forward Jon Wolleben (Plattsburgh, N.Y.). That would be as close as the Tartans would get in the first stanza. Bluffton would take a 39-29 lead into the locker room thanks to 14 first half points and a 7-of-10 shooting performance from Cunningham.
After shooting 64% from the field in the first half the Beavers looked to continue their hot streak during the second twenty minutes extending their ten point halftime lead to 16 points (45-29) two minutes in. The young Tartans would hold their own and cut the Beavers lead to one (58-57) with 4:49 to play after sophomore Ryan Einwag (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) hit the front end of his one-on-one.
Senior guard Mike Anthony would quiet the crowd scoring the next three points for Bluffton, but after Anthony’s jumper junior Geoff Kozak (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon) would nail a trey from the top of the arc on the ensuing possession, pulling the Tartans within one (63-62). After a steal by Tartans sophomore guard Corey O’Rourke (Merion, Pa./St. Joe Prep), Einwag would get fouled and head to the charity stripe. He would give the Tartans the lead (62-61) for the first time after making both shots with 2:56 left in regulation.
The Tartans would not hold the lead for long, as junior forward P.J. Juenger scored the next four points giving the Beavers a 65-62 edge. After a Tartan missed three-pointer Bluffton would seal the victory hitting two foul shots.
Leading the way for the Tartans was Einwag with 16 points and 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Kozak finished with 13 and freshman Jack Anderson (Beaver Falls, Pa.) cashed in with 12. For Bluffton, Cunningham was held to three points in the second half and finished with 17 for the game to lead all scorers. Anthony and senior Eric Schwieterman ended with 13 apiece.
In the loss the Tartans held the edge on the glass hauling in 37 boards to the Beavers 35. Bluffton shot 50.9% from the field to the Tartans 39.1%.
The Carnegie Mellon men’s basketball team will be idle until December 31, as they host the Crusaders of Capital University. Tip is set for 2:00 p.m. in Skibo Gymnasium.
