Men’s Basketball Outlasted by #13 Washington (Mo.) 73-49

Stats

Jan. 21 – (ST. LOUIS, Mo.) – The 13th-ranked team in the nation, Washington (Mo.) University, handed the Carnegie Mellon men’s basketball team their third straight loss Sunday, January 21. The Bears defeated the Tartans 73-49 in St. Louis, Mo. in University Athletic Association (UAA) play. The Tartans drop their association record to 2-3 and are 9-6 overall. The Bears remain undefeated in Association play (5-0) and up their overall mark to 14-1.

A pair of fouls shots by sophomore Corey O’Rourke (Merion, Pa./St. Joe Prep) put the Tartans on-top 4-3 early. For Carnegie Mellon, that would be the last lead of the first half, as the Bears went on a 14-2 run over an eight minute span taking a 17-6 lead with 8:41 remaining in the first stanza.

Wash. U. expanded their lead to 16 on two different possessions before the Tartans cut the deficit to 30-16 heading into the half. The outside perimeter play in the first half for both teams was below par, as the two teams were a combined 1-of-12 from behind the arc, the Tartans were 0-of-5.

Washington came out of the locker room on fire expanding their lead to 38-16 over the first two and a half minutes. The Tartans scored the next five points cutting the lead to 38-21 with 16:03 to play. The Bears proved to be to strong Sunday going onto the 73-49 victory.

The Cardinal and gray forced the Bears to 17, but committed 23 over their own. The Tartans shot 27% from the floor, while hauling in 40 rebounds to the Bears 46% and 44 boards. Junior Geoff Kozak (Huntingdon, Pa.) kept Carnegie Mellon streak of consecutive games with a three-point alive hitting a trey at the 5:47 mark in the second half. The streak now is at 150 games.

Kozak was the only Tartan in double figures cashing in with 11. Sophomore Ryan Einwag (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) had nine points, while O’Rourke finished with eight. Junior Troy Ruths paced the Bears with 15 points, seven boards and five blocks.

The Tartans return to the hardware Friday, January 26, as they host UAA opponent Emory University. Game time is set for 8:00 p.m.