The Observer, February 10, 2006
Volume XXXVIII, Issue 16
Spartans let Throwback finale slip away against Judges
click to enlarge
The games that hurt the most are the ones that teams feel they should have won, or the ones that slipped away at the end. The men's basketball team endured a loss like this on Sunday at the Adelbert Gym, falling to the Brandeis Judges, 74-70 in overtime, after having a 38-28 lead at halftime.
The Spartans, wearing Case Tech Rough Rider uniforms as part of Throwback Weekend, struggled offensively during the first few minutes of the game. It was not until freshman Steve Young and Funso Lafe provided a spark off the bench five minutes into the game that Case began to flourish on offense. After trailing 8-4, the Spartans went on a 14-4 run to take six-point lead. They never relinquished the lead in the half and appeared well on their way to snapping their four-game losing streak.
Case continued to play well early in the second half. A three-pointer by Young increased the team's lead to 51-38 with 11:43 remaining in regulation. That would be the biggest lead of the game for Case.
Shortly after the Spartans increased their lead to 13, a bizarre turn of events developed. As Steve DeLuca attempted a lay-up, Case's Carson Oren fouled him, giving DeLuca two free throws. However, after the foul, Oren reacted angrily, hitting the bleachers. It appeared as though Oren was angry with himself, but the referee explained to Case coach Sean McDonnell (pictured left) that he was unsure whether Oren was angry over the foul call or at himself. Therefore, he issued the technical foul.
Next, Case center Mason Conrad received a technical foul of his own. The two technical fouls and the shooting foul gave DeLuca a total of six free throw attempts. The Brandeis sophomore made five of the six, bringing Brandeis within four points of the lead. The Judges were right back into the game, thanks to two largely questionable technical foul calls. It was arguably the turning point of the game.
"It was a critical point of the game," said Lafe. "In that situation, how you respond determines what happens the rest of the game."
Lafe, though, did not pin the soon-to-follow defeat solely on the disputed foul calls.
"We still had opportunities to win the game [despite the technicals], but we just did not take advantage of them," he said.
DeLuca, who finished with a game-high and season-high 35 points, scored two more points to cut the Case lead to two. Nonetheless, the Spartans, perhaps the most resilient team in the UAA this year, gathered their composure and made a 11-5 run, increasing the lead back to eight points with 4:24 remaining.
There was no quit in DeLuca, though, who scored the next eight points for the Judges, cutting the Case lead to 63-62. Thirty seconds later, the Judges' Joe Coppens tied the game with a free throw. Lafe made two free throws of his own to give the lead back to Case, but Brandeis tied the game again with 11 seconds left after a layup by Kwame Graves-Fulgham. The Spartans had plenty of time to take a good game-winning shot but settled for a three-pointer from Carson Oren. The shot looked good from the release but barely missed the mark, forcing the game into overtime.
The Spartans did not have much left in the tank in overtime. Brandeis scored the first six points of the extra period to put the game away. The Spartans played hard until the bitter end but ran out of time.
The loss dropped Case's season record to 10-10 (2-7 in the UAA). Brandeis improved to 12-8 overall and 5-4 in league play. With only one player past his sophomore year, the Judges look to be a team on the rise in the conference.
Lafe led the Spartans on the afternoon with 24 points, and Matt Cannan recorded a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out.
The Spartans are on the road tonight as they battle Washington University in St. Louis. They then travel to Chicago for their final road game of the year on Sunday against the Maroons. The Spartans will be trying to avenge previous losses to both teams earlier in the season.
