The Observer, March 3, 2006
Volume XXXVIII, Issue 19
Seniors shine in their final victory as Spartans
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Senior Carson Oren will graduate this year as Case's all-time leading scorer and rebounder. Fittingly, Oren led the Spartans in scoring and rebounding one last time as Case defeated Emory, 89-78, on Saturday at Horsburgh Gymnasium.
The Spartans started the game with a level of confidence that they had not shown earlier in the season. Perhaps this was due to the Spartans' victory over the Eagles in the UAA opener on Jan. 7 or the Eagles' 4-9 conference record. Regardless, the Spartans came out firing, with Rich Mullen converting three field goals from behind the arc. One was from about 25 feet away to beat the shot clock and give Case a 15-4 lead seven minutes into the opening half.
The Spartans continued to control the game until they reached an offensive lull late in the first half. Emory closed its deficit to 30-28 after a 12-3 run largely due to the three-point exploits of guard Adrian Sosa. By the end of the half, the Spartans found themselves leading by only one point.
It took Case a while to break open the game in the second half as Emory was able to stay in the game by forcing turnovers and scoring on second-chance opportunities. The game was tied at 53-53 with slightly over 11 minutes remaining when Case began to make its run. Most of the offense came from Funso Lafe. Lafe, skilled at beating opponents off the dribble and driving to the basket, did exactly that as Emory had no defender able to stay close to him. The senior guard scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half.
The game looked to be over as Case built a 76-62 lead with 4:23 remaining in the game. However, a few Case turnovers, along with a three-pointer from Jeff Hall and a dunk by Gordon McKemie gave the Eagles new life as they cut Case's lead to five at the two-minute mark.
At this juncture of the game, the Spartans needed to make their free throw attempts if they wanted to preserve the victory. The center of attention at the line was Oren, who made only one of his first eight free throws during the game. The senior, though, calmly sank two consecutive free throws to increase the lead to seven and diffuse a 9-2 run by Emory. The Eagles never came closer, and the Spartans cruised to the victory.
All of the seniors were on the court during the critical stage of the game and were greeted by large rounds of applause as they exited in the final minute. They were the ones who carried the team to the victory, as the four of them (Oren, Lafe, Mullen, and Andrew Impastato) combined to score 53 of Case's 89 points.
Head coach Sean McDonnell cited good defense as one of the keys to the victory.
"Defensively, we did a great job against Emory, especially keeping [Spiros] Ferderigos and Hall in check the way that we did," McDonnell said.
Another one of the keys to the game was the dominant performance of Oren, especially on the boards, as he shattered his previous career-high of 14 by grabbing 21. McDonnell described Oren's rebounding performance as "the best of its kind in the history of the UAA" and one of the best he has ever seen in person.
The Spartans finished the regular season playing their best basketball, winning two of their final four games and outscoring their opponents by 11 points over that span. They will look to carry the strong finish into next season but will have to find a way to replace the scoring of Oren and Lafe. Obtaining a go-to scorer will be the biggest off-season need for head coach Sean McDonnell. Nonetheless, with players like Matt Cannan, Mason Conrad, and Steve Young returning next year, McDonnell will again have a solid nucleus to help him build his team.
As for the departing seniors, they have made the basketball program a better one since they first joined the team.
"I'm pleased for all the hard work they've done," McDonnell said. "The program has come a long way since they arrived three or four years ago. We are going to do our best to continue to pick up in their absence. We will certainly miss them."
