Strong Second Half Lifts Men’s Basketball Over Catholic University

Dec. 8 – (WASHINGTON, D.C.) – The Carnegie Mellon University men’s basketball team traveled to the nation’s capital Saturday, December 8 and came away with a 70-57 victory over the Cardinals of Catholic University of America. The Tartans move to 4-2 following the win, as the Cardinals drop under .500 for the first time this season moving to 4-5.

Carnegie Mellon opened the game on an 8-0 run as senior Greg Gonzalez (Southlake, Texas/Carroll) accounted for six points. With a 16-10 Tartans lead with 10:21 to play in the first, Catholic scored eight unanswered to take their first lead of the game with 5:03 showing on the clock. Freshman Wes Parker gave the Cardinals the lead hitting the only three-pointer of the half. The eight unanswered started a 17-8 run for the Cardinals who took a 27-24 lead heading into the locker room.

Gonzalez and senior Geoff Kozak (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon) tallied 16 of the Tartans 24 first half points, each having eight. The tandem combined to shoot 8-of-11, as Kozak made all four of his attempts. Parker led all scorers in the first half with nine points and junior Nick Olivero was perfect from the charity stripe (7-of-7) for Catholic.

Early in the second half, Carnegie Mellon went on a 10-0 run to take a 34-30 advantage. Kozak drilled a trey 2:21 into the half to give the Tartans a lead they would never relinquish. The Cardinal and Gray extended their six-point lead with 6:23 left to 15 points over a three-minute span which ended on a follow-up one handed dunk by Gonzalez.

Gonzalez led the Tartans with a career-high 21 points including a 7-of-8 performance from the line. Kozak and sophomore Jack Anderson (Beaver Falls, Pa.) cashed in with double digit numbers scoring 15 and 11, respectively. Gonzalez grabbed eight rebounds and recorded three blocks in the win. Anderson led all players with a career-high nine rebounds and junior Ryan Einwag (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) had eight boards while scoring nine points.

Freshman center Chris McGrew led Catholic with 14 points as Parker was held to only two points in the second stanza ending with 11.

The Tartans will be back in action Thursday, December 20 as they host Christopher Newport University. Tip is set for 4:00 p.m. on the court of Skibo Gymnasium.