CASE 74 , BETHANY 73...
CLEVELAND, OH (November 19, 2005) - Case Western Reserve sophomore center Mason Conrad (Tarpon Springs, FL) hit a lay-up with no time left on the clock to give the Spartans a 74-73 victory over Bethany College in the Championship game of the Case Alumni Association Tip-Off Tournament. Conrad was named to the All-Tournament team along with fellow Spartan Carson Oren (South Bend, IN - pictured), who was voted the tournament MVP. Senior Scott Mezyk (Johnstown, PA) was named to the All-Tournament team for Bethany. 
Bethany came out firing in the first half and built a 42-36 halftime lead behind 8 of 23 shooting from three-point range. The Spartans actually shot better from the field in the first half with a 50% field goal percentage, compared to 43% for the Bulldogs. However, the three point shots made the difference as Case was 0-2 from behind the arc.
The Spartans battled back in the second half with a strong effort on the boards. Case out-rebounded Bethany with a whopping 59 rebounds as the Bulldogs managed just 22 rebounds in the contest. Meanwhile, Oren led all scorers with 22 points while grabbing a game-high 14 rebounds. Conrad also added 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Spartans. The Bulldogs were led by Mezyk with 15 points.
With 3:45 remaining in the game, Bethany held what seemed to be a commanding 11-point lead, 67-56. Case however was able to whittle the Bulldog lead down to one when Funso Lafe (Chesterland, OH) hit a layup with seven seconds on the clock to make the score 73-72. Bethany's Josh Polantz (Johnstown, PA) was then fouled and went to the free throw line for two shots and four seconds on the clock. Polantz missed both free throws, leaving the Spartan deficit at just one point. The Spartans called a time out to set up a length-of-the-court pass to Carson Oren for the final play. Oren's shot fell short but Mason Conrad was there to grab the rebound and lay it in as time expired.
With the win, Case remains undefeated at 2-0 with the victory while Bethany evens to 1-1 on the year.
Box Score
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