Tartans Claim ECAC South Championship With 75-67 Win

Mar. 9 – (READING, Pa.) – The Carnegie Mellon University men’s basketball team, seeded second, played fourth seeded Gwynedd-Mercy in the championship game of the 2008 ECAC South Tournament hosted by Albright College in Reading, Pa. on Sunday afternoon. Junior Ryan Einwag’s (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) 28 points lifted the Tartans to a 75-67 victory over the Griffins claiming the 2008 ECAC South Championships. Einwag earned Most Valuable Player honors for his performance.

Carnegie Mellon opened the game on an 8-1 run holding the Griffins without out a field goal over the first four minutes of the game. Gwynedd-Mercy rattled off four straight points cutting the Tartan lead to 8-5, but Carnegie Mellon ignited going on a 9-2 run giving the Tartans a 17-7 lead with 9:47 to play in the first stanza following a trey by senior Geoff Kozak (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon). Prior to Kozak’s hoop Einwag tallied nine straight points.

The Cardinal and Gray took their biggest lead of the half on a transition bucket by junior Corey O’Rourke (Merion, Pa./St. Joe Prep) from senior Greg Gonzalez (Southlake, Texas/Carroll) at the 6:16 mark giving the Tartans a 30-13 advantage. The two teams played even basketball the rest of the way, as the Tartans took a 40-25 lead into the locker room.

With the Tartans holding onto a 46-33 lead the Griffins went on a 9-2 run pulling within six at 48-42 with 13:22 to play in regulation. Two straight three-pointers by Einwag with a Griffin basket between gave Carnegie Mellon a ten point lead 54-44. With the Tartans holding onto a 61-49 lead at the seven minute mark, Gwynedd-Mercy went on one more surge cutting the Cardinal and Gray’s lead to 64-57.

The Tartans regained a double digit lead (72-60) with 1:32 to play. The Griffins did not go down without a fight pulling back to within seven, but clutch foul shooting gave the Tartans a 75-67 victory.

Einwag’s 28 points led all scorers. Gonzalez tallied his eleventh double-double of the season cashing in with 23 points and 12 rebounds. O’Rourke dished out a career-high ten assists in the win, as Einwag had five. Sophomore Lemeire Talley led the Griffins with 13 points and junior Dave Smith and sophomore Haven Wroten had 11 each.

Carnegie Mellon shot 48% from the field and hauled in 38 boards. Gwynedd-Mercy shot 47% and grabbed 32 rebounds.

Carnegie Mellon ends their season with a 19-9 record and Gwynedd-Mercy finishes the campaign 21-10. The 19 wins for the Tartans ties for the second most in school history with the 2004-05 squad, as they ended the season 19-7.