Tartans Hold Off Wolverines 72-61 in ECAC Quarterfinal Action

Mar. 5 – (PITTSBURGH, Pa.) – The #2 seed Carnegie Mellon University Tartans men’s basketball team opened up postseason play with a 72-61 victory over the #7 seed Grove City College Wolverines in the quarterfinals of the 2008 ECAC Division III South Men’s Basketball Championships. The host Tartans (17-9) led by 14 at halftime only to see their lead evaporate five minutes into the second half. Grove City (17-11) took the lead, but Carnegie Mellon responded with a 9-0 run to regain the advantage and come away victorious.

With the score tied at nine early, Carnegie Mellon scored eight straight points as senior guard Geoff Kozak (Huntingdon, Pa.) and sophomore guard Jack Anderson (Beaver Falls, Pa.) scored four apiece. The Tartans extended their run to 17-4 and led 26-13 with 6:08 remaining in the half. Grove City’s senior guard Ryan Gerber hit back to back three-point baskets but Tartan junior forward Ryan Einwag (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) sandwiched a three of his own in between. Tartan junior center Rob Pearson (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Wood) connected on a pair of lay-ups late in the half and Carnegie Mellon led 37-23 at the break with Einwag’s 13 points leading the way.

Early in the second half, Grove City reeled off 14 straight points to tie the game at 40. A three pointer from senior guard Shawn Carr at the 14:43 mark gave their Wolverines their first lead since 2-0. Carnegie Mellon’s senior center Greg Gonzalez (Southlake, Texas/Carroll) scored the next five points to give the Tartans the lead again and Carnegie Mellon never looked back. The Tartans increased their lead to double-digits with 6:40 remaining and Grove City would get no closer than seven points the rest of the way.

The Tartans used their size advantage to pull down 55 rebounds compared to 30 by the Wolverines. Gonzalez’s 19 rebounds and 13 points give him his tenth double-double on the season. Einwag led Carnegie Mellon with 21 points on 8-13 shooting and Kozak added 15 points and five assists in the win. Gonzalez and junior forward Terrance Bouldin-Johnson (Tukwila, Wash./O’Dea) each had four blocks on the day. Carr led the Wolverines with 17 points, including three treys, and sophomore forward Andy O’Keefe finished with 14 points in the loss.

The Carnegie Mellon University Tartans advance to the semifinals of the ECAC Division III South Men’s Basketball Championship to take on the #3 seed Misericordia University Cougars on Saturday, March 8. The game will be played at the Bollman Center on the campus of the #1 seed Albright College Lions with tip at 2:00 p.m.