Box Score CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Earlham College men's basketball team survived a sluggish start on Wednesday, but the Quakers were not able to capture a victory on the opening night of the Bill Sudeck Holiday Tournament at Case Western Reserve University.

Case Western defeated the Quakers 64-61.

"We came out flat," Earlham Head Coach Jeff Justus said. "In the second half, we came out with more energy, but had some unfortunate things happen."

Both teams struggled on offense early, but the Quakers had an 11-4 advantage when Kyle Tucker (Vincennes, IN, Lincoln) hit a 3-pointer with 10:15 left in the opening period.

Case Western (3-6) responded and eventually tied the contest at 13-13 with 5:54 remaining. The Quakers trailed 25-22 at intermission.

In the second half, the Spartans built a 32-23 lead with 18:23 on the clock. The Quakers worked their way back into the game and they were behind 38-37 after Marcus Bledsoe (Indianapolis, IN, Ritter) hit one of two free throws with 12:20 left.

After a 15-6 run by Case Western, the Quakers trailed 53-43 with 9:42 remaining in the contest. The Quakers again fought back and grabbed a 61-60 lead with 47 seconds left after basket by Colton Bragg (Richmond, IN, Richmond).

However, Case Western answered with a score to make it 62-61 with 24 seconds on the clock. The Spartans converted a pair of free throws with four seconds to go and then they missed two with one tick left, but the Quakers couldn't get a shot at the buzzer.

Justin Barger (Ellettsville, IN, Edgewood) and Ryan Taylor (Martinsville, IN, Martinsville) led the Quakers with 13 points each, while Taylor had a team-high four assists.

Bragg tossed in 10 points with Bledsoe and Dustin Rusk (Frankfort, IN, Clinton Prairie) adding seven points each. Marty Broderick (Mooresville, IN, Mooresville) led Earlham with eight rebounds.

Earlham (2-8) plays in the consolation round of the tourney on Thursday against Kalamazoo College (2-8) at 2 p.m. Kalamazoo lost 84-78 to Geneva College on Wednesday.

Box Score