Carnegie Mellon Advances to ECAC South Region Semifinals

Clayton Barlow-Wilcox led the Tartans with 20 points in their 66-60 victory over Gettysburg in ECAC first-round action.

Led by three Tartans in double figures and strong free throw shooting, Carnegie Mellon's men's basketball team defeated Gettysburg 66-60 to advance to the semifinal round of the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference South Region Basketball Tournament.

The Tartans, who set a school record for most wins in a season with 19 (19-6), will face Catholic University Friday, March 4, at Franklin & Marshall in Lancaster, Pa. Catholic defeated DeSales, 72-71, in first-round action. In the other semifinal F&M will play Scranton. The ECAC South Region Championship will be played at 7 p.m., Saturday, March 5.

After trailing 33-27 at halftime against Gettysburg, the Tartans picked up the pace shooting 53 percent from the field and netting 18 of 21 at the foul line, including the last 12 in a row in the last several minutes to seal the deal. Their full-court pressure defense held the Bullets to 27 second-half points on 44 percent shooting from the floor. The big difference came at the foul stripe, with the Tartans making 26 of 32, while the Bullets made only 7 of 10.

The Tartans' leading scorer Clayton Barlow-Wilcox led Carnegie Mellon with 20 points, followed by Michael Divens with 17 and Nate Maurer with 12. Divens had 9 rebounds. Gettysburg was led by Mike Spadafora's 16 points.

This marks only the second postseason appearance for a Carnegie Mellon men's basketball team. The only other time the Tartans advanced to postseason play was during the 1976-77 season, when they lost to Wittenberg University, 82-68, in the first round of the NCAA Division III tournament.

The postseason caps a banner year for the Tartans, who posted an 18-6 regular-season mark and finished second in the University Athletic Association (UAA) with a 10-4 conference slate. The Tartans were led by junior forwards Barlow-Wilcox (18.5 ppg, 8.1 rpg) and Maurer (17.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg), and senior guard Divens (14.2 ppg, 7.3 rpg). Barlow-Wilcox and Maurer were first-team All-UAA selections and Divens was a second-team pick. Carnegie Mellon Head Coach Tony Wingen was voted UAA Coach-of-the-Year.

Bruce Gerson