CHICAGO – The University of Chicago men's basketball team made every effort to overcome a 20-point deficit against Carnegie Mellon University Friday night at the Ratner Athletics Center, but ultimately fell to the Tartans, 84-73.  

With the loss, UChicago dropped to 9-12 on the season and 4-6 in the University Athletic Association. Carnegie Mellon improved to 10-11 overall and 3-8 in the UAA.

Despite being down 57-37 with 15:23 remaining, the Maroons refused to surrender. Senior guard Cole Schmitz keyed a 25-9 rally with 12 of his 18 points, and junior forward Dominic Laravie nailed a three to pull UChicago within four, 66-62, with 7:31 left. However, Carnegie Mellon answered with a quick 7-2 run of its own to take the lead back up to nine, 71-62, in less than a minute. The Maroons again reduced the deficit to five with under two minutes left, 78-73, but didn't score again.

The Tartans had the touch throughout, hitting 53 percent of their shots on 29-of-55 shooting and 50 percent from three-point land, going 9-for-18. They were particularly sharp in the first half, taking a 44-29 lead into recess after making 17-of-32 shots (53 percent) and 6-of-12 attempts for three. However, the Maroon defense forced 17 turnovers, allowing UChicago to keep the game competitive despite hitting just 6-of-27 shots (22 percent) from beyond the arc.

Sophomore guard Brandon Beckman joined Schmitz with 18 points to lead UChicago. Laravie added 12 and first-year forward Bryce Hopkins scored 10. Junior forward Brennan McDaniel and sophomore forward Zach Munson each had six rebounds to pace UChicago on the boards.

The loss snapped a two-game win streak for the Maroons in which they won at No. 6-ranked Emory University before a second-straight road win against University of Rochester. The Maroons have won their last three road games, but have dropped their last four at home.

NEXT GAME:

• Sunday, Feb. 16 @ 12:00 PM – Case Western Reserve University at UChicago