Tartans Make it Three Straight to Start the Season with an 86-75 Win at Whitman

(WALLA WALLA, Wash.) – The Carnegie Mellon University men's basketball team completed its trip to the state of Washington on Sunday with an 86-75 victory over Whitman College.

Game Information
Carnegie Mellon 86, Whitman 75
Records: Carnegie Mellon (3-0), Whitman (1-1)
Location: Walla Walla, Wash. (Sherwood Athletic Center)

How it Happened

• Sophomore Justin Allen scored the first basket of the game off a layup 25 seconds in, as the Tartans held the lead the rest of the half and led 40-36 at the break.
• Carnegie Mellon took its largest lead of the first twenty minutes off a triple by Allen at the 6:34 mark which made the score 32-24.
• Whitman pulled within a point, 42-41, early in the second half, but five straight points by sophomore Buckley DeJardin pushed the Tartans lead to 47-42 three minutes into the second frame.
• A jumper by junior Aidan Booher three minutes later gave the Tartans their largest lead, until the closing minute of the game, at 57-48.
• Midway through the second half, Whitman scored seven straight points and knotted the score at 63-all.
• At the 8:47 mark with the score tied at 65-65, Allen scored four straight points. Whitman's Ali Efe Isik connected on a layup before Allen drained a triple and then converted one of two free throws to give the Tartans a 73-67 advantage with 6:36 to play.
• After a jumper by Whitman's Jander Cline, the Tartans ended the final six minutes of the game on a 13-6 run, as they went on for the 86-75 victory.

Tartan Stats

• The Tartans finished the contest shooting 52.2% (35-67) from the floor.
• Allen led four Tartans in double figures with a career-high 34 points after converting 13-of-21 from the floor. The sophomore also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds in the win.
• DeJardin chipped in with 15 points while senior R.J. Holmes had 12 and junior Nolan Casey ended with 10 points.
• Casey dished out a team-best and career-high four assists while DeJardin tied a career-high with a team leading three steals.

The Blue Stats

• The Blues finished the contest shooting 39.1% (27-69) from the floor.
• Whitman was led by Jai Deshpande who had 21 points.
• Cline ended with 16 points and a team-best nine rebounds while Efe Isik had 13 and Alex Pape scored 11 points.

Game Notes

• Holmes, Allen and De Jardin have all scored in double figures in the first three games this season.
• The Tartans have now won 14 straight games when shooting over 50.0% from the floor and have done so in all three contests this season.

Up Next

• Carnegie Mellon returns to the hardwood on Saturday, November 18 with a 4:00 p.m. tip at Penn State Behrend in Erie, Pennsylvania.