PITTSBURGH, Pa. (Nov. 27) – The Saint Vincent men's basketball team dropped a 76-62 decision to host Carnegie Mellon University in the CMU DoubleTree Invitational Championship game.
 
Things started well for Saint Vincent as Matt D'Amico scored the first four points of the contest, helping the Bearcats out to an early lead. However, the host Tartans countered back with 12 straight points to take an eight-point advantage with 14:30 left in the first half.
 
Saint Vincent used an 8-2 run, capped by a layup by junior Tom Kromka, bringing the deficit back to within a basket at 14-12. The Tartans worked the lead back up to as many as seven before a pair of free throws by Coy Patterson Jr. helped the Bearcats back within two (22-20) with 7:39 to remaining in the half.
 
After seeing CMU extend the lead to 31-25, Saint Vincent countered with eight straight points to regain the lead, including the tying layup by Kromka and a pair of free throws by Jason Capco. The Tartans scored the final three points of the half to take a narrow 34-33 lead into halftime.
 
Carnegie Mellon used a 10-3 spurt to open the second half to build its lead to 44-36. After Austin Ford drained a pair of free throws to momentarily stop the run, CMU rattled off four more points to push their lead into double figures (48-38) with 15:18 to play.
 
Saint Vincent brought the deficit back to eight points on several occasions but back-to-back three-pointers helped CMU take a 60-45 advantage, giving them their largest lead with 10:44 left.
 
Six straight SVC points, including four from Capco, helped the Bearcats bring the deficit back to single digits at 60-51 with 8:25 to play. The lead remained around double-digits for the remainder of the contest with Saint Vincent never able to make a major run at a comeback.
 
D'Amico paced the Bearcats with a team-best 16 points, while Capco added 11 points. Kromka just missed on a third straight double-double effort, finishing with 10 points and 9 rebounds. Ford added 8 points and 8 rebounds in the loss, while Patterson Jr. racked up a team-best four assists.
 
Jack Serbin led CMU with a double-double performance, posting 30 points and 15 rebounds to claim tournament MVP honors.
 
Carnegie Mellon converted 44.8 percent from the field (26-58), including 8-of-18 from behind the three-point arc. Saint Vincent hit on 41.2 percent from the field. The Bearcats were out-rebounded by a 43-29 margin.

Following the conclusion of the game, Ford and Kromka earned All-Tournament Team honors.

The loss drops Saint Vincent to 3-3 overall, while CMU improves to 3-2. The Bearcats host Chatham University for the PAC opener Wednesday, Nov. 30. Tip-off at the Carey Center is slated for 7:30 p.m.