Courtesy of Dylan Richter

Dylan Richter (left) and Alex Toth (right) celebrate the 2009 NCAA Divsion III national championship in Salem, Virginia.

They have lived together all four years and are students in the John M. Olin School of Business. They both attended high school in the Chicago suburbs and met as summer camp counselors at Camp Horseshoe in Rhinelander, Wis. Back then, Toth was known by Richter as “God’s Nightmare.” Toth earned the nickname playing a basketball game that involved trampolines.

“Whenever you saw Toth with the ball, you knew something bad was happening,” Richter said.

“I don’t know what Dylan’s nickname was,” Toth said. “I just remember you’d hear about him at [Adlai E. Stevenson High School] being a really great basketball star, and coming to camp, he was just so goofy. I was immediately enamored—I knew I wanted him to be my roommate.”

When the pair arrived at Wash. U. in 2008, they joined a team coming off a 25-6 season and a national championship. Richter, a guard, and Toth, a center, broke into head coach Mark Edwards’ rotation at the beginning, and they averaged almost 11 combined points-per-game. The Bears finished 29-2 and defended their national title.

Three years later, they are getting ready to play what could be their final home games at Wash. U. The Bears face Case Western Reserve University on Friday, Feb. 10, and Carnegie Mellon University on Sunday, Feb. 12, which is Senior Day. Toth, Richter and guard Jake Seymour are the three seniors and captains on the team.

After the back-to-back national titles, the Bears endured disappointment during Toth and Richter’s sophomore and junior seasons. The team stormed to a 24-3 record in 2009-10, but it fell at home to Illinois Wesleyan University in the NCAA tournament. The next year the Bears plummeted to 13-12 and missed the playoffs altogether.

This year, the Bears are unranked after a short-lived stay at No. 25, but they are tied with New York University for first place in the University Athletic Association. The Red and Green has notched some momentous wins over ranked opponents.

“Particularly [with] Augustana—this year when they were ranked No. 1, beating them and kind of proving to ourselves after a little bit of a down year that we could get back to where we’ve been before,” Toth said. “And right now, we’re making a run for it, and you can really see the team coming together.”

Richter is averaging a team-leading 17.0 points-per-game and has made nearly half of the team’s three-point baskets. Toth is the top rebounder with 5.2 per-game, and he has added 8.3 points-per-game.

Both players said their best memory as Wash. U. basketball players was the title game victory from the 2008-09 season, even though Richter was on crutches because of a broken foot.

Off the court, Richter and Toth shared some interesting times on the Koenig 2 floor as freshmen. One memory involves a good friend who shared their living space.

“We had a fish freshman year named Rupert, and he went through a lot,” Richter said. “A lot of people came into our room and wanted to include him in the party, so they would put things in his tank that weren’t supposed to be there. But he survived until sophomore year.”

At the time of Rupert’s death, Richter and Toth were living in House No. 1 with several teammates and friends. They named the house “Phi Slamma Jamma” after the famous 1980s University of Houston basketball teams that featured future NBA stars Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler.

The Phi Slamma Jamma members donned black suits and held a funeral service to mourn the loss of Rupert.

“He’s buried out there to this day,” Richter said.

Toth and Richter also recalled each other’s more embarrassing basketball-related moments during freshman year. For Richter, it was a missed dunk at Illinois Wesleyan.

“He was on a really nice breakaway and just took off way too far from the hoop and didn’t get anywhere, kind of just shoved the ball off the bottom of the rim underhanded, something that I would normally do,” Toth said, laughing.

Toth was the victim of an early-season prank during a conditioning drill in which players were supposed to mimic each other’s movements.

“You’re supposed to hit the ground, slide left, slide right, defensive stance,” Richter said. “And the coaches sent [Toth] down to the training room or something like that and told all the rest of the team, about 30 of us, that when he goes up, don’t do anything…So a bunch of captains, a bunch of older guys go up—I think I went up at some point—and then [Edwards] calls up Toth, and no one moves. He’s hitting the ground, he’s screaming and sliding left and right, and no one’s doing anything, and he has no idea what’s wrong.”

The pair still has its lighthearted moments on the court. On the same weekend Richter scored the 1000th point of his career, he rejoiced with Toth over what the center claims was the fourth left-handed layup he has made.

“It’s something that needs more [publicity],” Richter said.

Richter and Toth believe their friendship has helped them click in basketball and that the rest of the team shares the same cohesion.

“Personally, I think there were teams with better players than us freshman year, but beating us was damn-near impossible because everyone knew the next step someone else was going to take and the next cut he was going to make,” Richter said. “So that off-court chemistry translates to on-court chemistry.”

Ben Gottesdiener | Student Life

Chris Klimek comes down with a rebound last weekend in a win over Emory. The Bears traveled to Emory on Sunday to take on the Eagles, and once again came away with a 92-83 victory. Klimek had 11 points for the Bears.

Senior Dylan Richter led the way for the Bears with 20 points, including his 1000th point as a Bear. His three-pointer with a minute left cut the lead to 88-80 and put him over that milestone, becoming the 20th player to do so in school history.

Wash. U had an early 16-13 lead, but Rochester’s next five shots were from beyond the arc, which gave them a lead they would never relinquish. By the half, Rochester had a lead of 45-34 and had made 9-14 three-pointers. The Bears had nine turnovers in the first half, and Rochester efficiently scored 15 points off those turnovers.

With thirteen minutes to go in the second half, Rochester had increased their lead to 20 but the Red and Green stormed back. Three-pointers by Richter, freshman Brayden Teuscher, sophomore Chris Klimek and junior Max Needle keyed the charge as the Bears reduced the deficit to six with 5:32 to play.

Rochester was able to withstand the run and made their free throws, 20 for the half, on the way to preserving the ten point win. For the game they shot 63% from the three-point line, and had a 27-10 advantage in points off turnovers and only seven turnovers to Wash. U’s 17.

Klimek had a career high 20 points off 8-10 shooting, freshman Matt Palucki had nine, and Needle had a season-high eight in only five minutes off the bench.

—

Sunday, the men’s basketball team finished strong on their road tour in Atlanta against No. 17 Emory University. With five players in double figures, the Bears’ 92-83 victory snapped Emory’s 17-game home winning streak.

Emory sprang to the early lead, holding a seven point advantage with 13 minutes remaining in the first half. The Bears fought back and after a layup by Dylan Richter with 16 seconds left, they held a 10 point lead going into halftime, 49-39.

After a three by sophomore Alan Aboona, Wash. U. had their largest lead of the game, 13, two minutes into the second half. With only a couple minutes to go Emory got the lead down to two on two occasions, but the Bears weathered the storm and made their free throws to preserve the nine point victory.

Aboona led Wash. U with 16, Senior Alex Toth had 15 despite fouling out, and Teuscher, Palucki and Klimek all broke double figures as well. Because of foul trouble for the team, head coach Mark Edwards was forced to use the bench, but they responded well, outscoring Emory’s bench 40-9. The Red and Green also won the rebounding battle 42-28, but their turnover woes continued as they finished with 18.

The Bears remained tied for first in the UAA with New York University at 7-2. Their last home games will be Friday and Sunday next week against Case Western Reserve and Carnegie Mellon as they look to create some distance in the standings.

The No. 3 Bears traveled across the river to Belleville, Ill., on Friday evening and put on a dominating effort, posting a clean 9-0 sweep of McKendree University at Kings Point Racket Club.

With months of training between seasons behind them, the team was eager to get back out there and face some real opponents.

“I think everyone was really excited to get out there and start playing instead of just waking up early [for practice.] It was great to get the season opener underway, and it was good to get a win under our belts,” junior Adam Putterman said.

As head coach Roger Follmer often preaches is important, the Bears got off to a good start in doubles by winning all three matches. The top doubles pairing of junior Adam Putterman and freshman Ross Putterman won the first match, 8-6. Senior Cameron Chang and sophomore Max Franklin eked out a 9-8 (7-2) win in second doubles, and junior Gary Parizher and freshman Kevin Chu finished out the doubles portion of the meet with an 8-2 victory in the third doubles match.

“We really wanted to get out to a good start in doubles and keep that energy up through singles,” sophomore Tim Noack said. “Doubles is something we struggled with a bit last year, and we were really excited to go in with a lot of energy in this first match and win doubles.”

The Bears got some more strong efforts in the singles portion of the match, as all six players took down their McKendree opponents without too much trouble. Competing in singles for Wash. U. for the first time since coming in second place at the DIII USTA/ITA Singles Championship, Adam Putterman managed a three-set victory (6-4, 1-6, 10-5) over McKendree’s Barnabas Toth in the top doubles matchup.

“I felt like I’m starting to play like I was in the fall again, which is what I was hoping for, and now I can focus on getting better,” Adam Putterman said on his win.

Ross Putterman made quick work of the second singles matchup, taking a (6-1, 6-0) decision over Paulo Goncalves. Parizher picked up a (6-3, 6-3) win in third doubles, beating Alexandre Schuck of McKendree, and junior Kareem Farah won the fourth singles matchup over Luciano Misitrano in three sets, (6-2, 4-6, 10-3).

Wash. U. closed out the singles portion of the contest with a pair of quick two-set victories, as junior Bryan Haywood took out David Venditto (6-2, 6-0) and sophomore Tim Noack swept Jake Halde (6-0, 6-0).

“I was a little nervous going into it. I did play pretty well. I think McKendree was missing a few players, and we possibly weren’t playing their best lineup,” Noack said. “But I went out and played my game. I’m working on my serve quite a bit right now, but I served very well.”

While it’s still early in the season, the Bears are pleased with their progress and the results out on the court, and they felt it was good to get some match action under their belts.

“Playing that match, even though we ended up winning all the matches, kind of tells us a lot about where we were, preparation-wise, and you see a lot of things that you don’t get the chance to see in practice,” Adam Putterman said.

Wash. U. will be back out on the court on Sunday when they face Drury University, the No. 19 team in Division II. The match will begin at 1:00 p.m.

“We’ve lost to them I don’t even know how many times in a row, so we’ll definitely be looking forward to that match,” Noack said.

Freshman Maddy Scheppers scored 13 of her 15 points in the second half and recorded ten rebounds for her first career double-double, and freshman Melissa Gilkey added 19 points and seven rebounds as the Bears avenged last Friday’s 72-70 loss to Rochester in the WU Field House.

Gilkey scored six of Wash. U.’s first ten points on the night as the Red and Green rushed out to a 16-9 lead to open the game. The Yellow Jackets slowly chipped away at the lead over the next 11 minutes until with 1:08 to play, they took their first lead, 24-23, on a three-pointer. Rochester led 26-24 at the half.

Coming out of the half, the freshmen went to work; Gilkey and Scheppers each hit a three-pointer and a layup to give Wash. U. a 34-31 lead that ballooned to as big as 39-33 following another jumper by Scheppers.

Rochester fought back to cut the deficit to two points, but Gilkey’s second three of the night and third of her career gave the Bears some breathing room. Although Wash. U.’s struggles from the free-throw line continued (12-21 for the game), seniors Bethany Morrison and Dani Hoover connected from the line in the final minute to preserve the victory.

—

On Sunday afternoon, the Bears fell 82-72 to Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. Wash. U. was dominated on the boards 46-33 en route to their third conference loss.

Emory jumped out to an early 19-9 lead as the Bears struggled out of the gate. Head coach Nancy Fahey went to her bench early, and sophomore Lucy Montgomery responded with ten points in six minutes. However, Wash. U. entered halftime trailing 41-29.

Emory pushed their lead to as big as 16 with 18:41 to play, but the Bears scrapped their way back into contention. Hoover and freshman Alyssa Johanson got the Bears going, and Morrison hit a three with 6:29 to play to cut the Eagles’ lead to 69-68.

However, that was as close as they got as the teams traded baskets until Emory’s Savannah Morgan hit a three to open the lead to six with 2:54 to go. The Eagles hit four free throws down the stretch to ice the game.

The Red and Green (16-4, 6-3 UAA) look to bounce back next weekend against Case Western Reserve University on Friday and Carnegie Mellon University on Sunday.

On the women’s side, Wash. U. finished fourth, scoring a total of 40 points, while the men’s team scored 26 points, finishing seventh. Illinois State University finished strong as both its men’s and women’s won the invitational, scoring 114 points each.

“Overall, I think was a great meet for us,” head coach Jeff Stiles said. “We saw even more improvements from last time, we got a lot done, and we’re bringing home a lot of life time bests.”

Senior Erica Jackey led the women’s side as she competed extraordinarily well in the 800-meter run. She finished with a time of 2:10.69, beating her own school record by nearly four seconds. In addition, the Bears performed well in the pole vault as sophomore Anna Etherington won the event with a height of 3.81 meters, beating her personal-best by 0.3 meters. She is now second on Wash. U.’s all-time list.

“We’re really performing well in the pole vault,” Stiles said. “Our goal eventually is to sweep that event and I think we’re definitely taking good strides. Etherington set a good tone of what we’re set to accomplish.”

In the women’s mile, sophomores Elizabeth Worley, Katy Barron and Claire Tourjee competed well as they finished third through fifth. Worley finished third with a time of 5:23.08, Barron came in fourth with a time of 5:24.33, and Tourjee place fifth with 5:25.50. In the 3,000-meter run, sophomore Lizzy Handschy had a fourth-place finish with a time of 10:45.92.

Though the men’s did not finish well, many season-bests were accomplished at the meet. Senior Tyler Jackson ran well in the 55 hurdles, finishing third with a season-best time of 7.65. In the pole vault, freshman Troy Makous also performed well as he placed third and recorded a season-high of 4.55 meters.

Junior Ryan Doll placed sixth in the 200 meter run, but broke his personal record and finished with a time of 22.90. Senior Justin Pieper made a third-place finish in the high jump, finishing with a clearance of 1.95m.

The track and field teams look to continue their success in Monmouth, Ill. as they participate in the Fighting Scots Invitational.

In the playoffs, they hosted the Atlanta Falcons and dominated the game, winning 24-2. The only points that came for the Falcons were on a safety. The Giants then beat the defending Super Bowl champions and this year’s favorites, the Green Bay Packers, 37-20 at Lambeau Field. Finally, they beat the San Francisco 49ers 20-17 in a gritty game that concluded with a Lawrence Tynes field goal in overtime to seal their spot in the Super Bowl.

How did the Patriots get here?
The New England Patriots finished 13-3 in the regular season, the best record in the AFC. Tom Brady passed for 940 yards through the first two games of the season as the Patriots rolled past the Miami Dolphins and the San Diego Chargers before falling to the Buffalo Bills in Week 3. After coming off of their bye week, New England lost games two and three to the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Giants in Week 8 and Week 9, respectively. However, the Patriots did not lose again in 2011, rattling off ten straight victories heading into the Super Bowl. Although the Pats struggled down the stretch in the regular season with close wins against the Indianapolis Colts, Washington Redskins and Miami Dolphins (teams with a combined 13-35 record), they got back in rhythm with a 49-21 blowout of the Bills in the final week of the season. If you thought that was bad, consider the AFC Divisional Round game against the Denver Broncos two weeks later. New England started fast and finished strong in a thoroughly dominating 45-10 victory in which Brady threw for six touchdowns through just over two quarters. Finally, the Patriots downed the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game 23-20 despite Brady’s two-interception night. When Ravens’ kicker Billy Cundiff horribly missed a 32-yard field goal with 15 seconds to go, the Patriots returned to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2007.

I get it; Eli Manning is good. Who else is good on the Giants?
The Giants have one of the most intimidating defensive lines in all of football.

Though Justin Tuck has had a subpar year because of numerous injuries, his leadership and ability to get to the quarterback will present a challenge for Brady and his offensive line. As will Osi Umenyiora, who not only is able to get to the quarterback but also has a knack for forcing fumbles. Most impressive this season for the Giants has been Jason Pierre-Paul. JPP only started playing football at age 16, but his incredible athletic ability has made him into a defensive stalwart for the team. He finished the year with a spectacular 16.5 sacks. Victor Cruz has had one of the most impressive seasons from a wide receiver in Giants history. His 1,536 receiving yards are a single-season franchise-record for Big Blue. Look for him to do his signature salsa touchdown dance in the end zone should he score. Hakeem Nicks, however, is Manning’s go-to-guy and has some of the biggest hands in the NFL. His superior route running has made him into a phenomenal wide receiver. Cornerback Corey Webster is one of the most underrated players in the league at his position. He had a career-high six interceptions this year, but he is most famous for intercepting Brett Favre’s last pass as a Green Bay Packer in the 2008 postseason.

I get it; Tom Brady is good. Who else is good on the Patriots?
The Patriots are loaded with young talent all over the field on both sides of the ball. Wide receiver Wes Welker led the league in receptions for the third time as a Patriot as he racked up 122 catches for 1,569 yards and nine touchdowns. He may be considered small at five feet nine inches, but coming out of the slot, he is quick, shifty and a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses. The 2010 draft was kind to Tom Brady: he got two superb receiving tight ends in Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski. Hernandez had a strong season with 79 catches for 910 yards and seven touchdowns, but this was nothing compared to the season Gronkowski put together (which we’ll talk more about shortly). It is easy to overlook running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis because of Brady’s gaudy passing numbers, but defenses do so at their own risk. Green-Ellis was a force in the red zone in 2011 with 11 rushing touchdowns, despite only 667 rushing yards. On defense, middle linebacker Jerod Mayo continues to succeed in making plays all over the field as he tallied 95 tackles and two interceptions in 2011. In the secondary, corners Kyle Arrington and Devin McCourty are already known around the league as ball-hawks. Arrington led the league in interceptions this season with seven, and McCourty led the league last season with seven of his own. Take into account that each of the players mentioned here are 30 or younger, and it is easy to see why the Patriots are contenders every season.

Who is this “Gronk” guy, and what’s the deal with his foot?
Rob Gronkowski is a second-year tight end on the New England Patriots. He had a monster year, catching 90 passes for 1,327 yards and an NFL-record-for-tight-ends 17 touchdowns. Gronk also tied an NFL postseason record with three receiving touchdowns in the divisional round matchup against the Broncos. But in the game against the Baltimore Ravens two weeks ago, he severely sprained his ankle. He had to use a walking boot to protect his ankle and only removed it on Tuesday, sparking questions about his availability and effectiveness in the Super Bowl. Even if he does play, he will not be at 100 percent, drastically affecting a Patriots’ offense that relied heavily on Gronkowski throughout the year.

Why do the TV guys keep talking about the “last Super Bowl” these two played in?
In Super Bowl XLII the Giants defeated the heavily favored and previously-undefeated New England Patriots 17-14 in what was arguably the biggest upset in Super Bowl history. Many considered the game, which featured three lead changes in the fourth quarter, the best Super Bowl ever. The game also showcased one of the most miraculous plays in NFL history. Eli Manning was on the verge of being sacked, but somehow he evaded Patriots defenders and threw downfield to David Tyree, who made a spectacular catch. As the highlight of the spectacular game, Tyree leaped in the air and caught the ball and placed it on his helmet while fending off Rodney Harrison.

What is that MHK emblem on the Patriots jerseys mean?
Myra Hiatt Kraft is the late wife of Patriots owner Robert Kraft. She died from cancer in July, five days before the end of the NFL lockout, and the Patriots dedicated their season to her. Myra Kraft was a pillar for the NFL’s model franchise of the 2000s, and “win one more for Myra” has become the rallying cry around New England heading into the Super Bowl. After rushing for a touchdown against the Ravens in the AFC Championship game, Patriots running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis pointed to the symbol on his jersey as a sign of respect to the late Myra Kraft. Some Patriots fans believe that she was able to force Billy Cundiff’s chip shot wide in the waning seconds of the game.

This year’s game is taking place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Why is that significant?
Just as the old Yankee Stadium was known as “The House that (Babe) Ruth Built,” Lucas Oil Stadium is essentially “The House that Peyton Manning Built.” At 31 years old, Eli has the chance to win his second Super Bowl, one more than Peyton, 35, whose career is in doubt after neck surgery forced him to miss the 2011 season. Eli has long lingered in his older brother’s shadow, but Super Bowl XLV presents him a chance to distinguish himself from Peyton, who will be remembered as one of the greatest quarterbacks of his generation alongside Tom Brady.

Dan Kurzner | Sports Correspondent in Europe
Giants 30, Patriots 27
There is a fire lit under Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the Patriots. They want to avenge their Super Bowl XLII loss and their loss to the Giants 13 weeks ago. This is horrifying. That being said, the Giants defense has been outstanding, especially against teams that they are seeing for the second time this season (see Packers, 49ers). Because of injuries, Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman is the nickel cornerback. How will Edelman deal with Victor Cruz, the third-leading receiver in the NFL, in the slot? Most importantly, Eli Manning has asserted himself as the most clutch fourth-quarter QB in the league. I believe this game will be close and high scoring. In those games, the hot, clutch QB makes the difference.

Alex Leichenger | Sports Editor
Giants 31, Patriots 24
After the Giants spoiled their dreams of an undefeated season in 2008, the Patriots are seeking revenge. Unfortunately, this New England team doesn’t have the same talent as that loaded squad from four years ago, especially on defense. The hodgepodge unit performed admirably against the Ravens and Patriots, but Eli Manning and the Giants’ deep-ball threats of Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham and Victor Cruz will take the challenge to an insurmountable level. With tight end extraordinaire Rob Gronkowski hobbled (and possibly sidelined) by a high ankle sprain, the Pats lack the offensive firepower to keep up with the G-Men. However, I won’t be surprised if Tom Brady makes me look like an idiot for writing that.

Sahil Patel | Senior Sports Editor
Patriots 31, Giants 28
Yes, I’m the loon of the staff, but hear me out. I know that the Giants are the hot team right now; I know they won the regular season matchup; I know that the Patriots haven’t played well in the playoffs since 2004, but think about this: the last team to beat Bill Belichick’s Patriots three games in a row was the Indianapolis Colts from 2005-2006, when Peyton Manning led the Colts to his lone Super Bowl victory. Opposing teams just don’t win three straight. Say what you want about New England’s defense this season, but just know that Bill Belichick will have them ready to play. I look at the Giants linebackers and secondary, and I see gigantic matchup problems with New England’s offense; Tom Brady simply has too many weapons. Rob Gronkowski, Wes Welker, Aaron Hernandez, Danny Woodhead, etc. On defense, I know the Patriots have not been good, but Eli Manning has a reputation throughout his career for being turnover-prone. Which secondary was second in the league in interceptions? The New England Patriots. Look for a high-scoring, hard-fought game coming down to the wire. In that scenario, I pick Brady and Belichick every. single. time.

Trevor Casson | Sports Reporter
Giants 27, Patriots 21
Why? Well for one I am a huge Giants fan, so I would never go against my team. The Giants already beat the Patriots 24-20 earlier this season at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts without Hakeem Nicks and Ahmad Bradshaw. The Giants are also catching fire at the right time. Eli Manning is an elite quarterback and has a stellar array of options from Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham to Jake Ballard. Though the Pats haven’t lost since Week 9 against the Giants, they will have trouble getting past the ferocious defensive line of New York. The likes of Matt Light and Nate Solder will have trouble blocking Jason Pierre-Paul, Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck, Chris Canty and Dave Tollefson. The secondary of the Giants has also impressed over the last couple of weeks, so look for a few turnovers to be forced. Nonetheless, it is going to be a tough game. If the Patriots are to win this game, they have to get the ball to wide receiver Wes Welker, who has caused the Giants trouble in the past. If the Giants are able to contain him, look for head coach Tom Coughlin to be doused by a Gatorade shower again.

Kurt Rohrbeck | Senior Sports Editor
Giants 26, Patriots 21
Three reasons for this pick. One: the Giants’ defense has caught fire lately, and their front four, when performing like they are now, can slow down anyone. They even impeded Tom Brady—we saw it happen four years ago—and Jason Pierre-Paul may be even better than any of the guys who were on the Giants then. Two: Eli has quietly been tremendous all season long, and I’m not at all confident in the New England secondary’s ability to contain Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz and him. If the Giants can keep the Pats even remotely honest with the run game, it’ll be trouble. And three: I’m an Eagles fan; I really don’t want a Giants win, and as you can guess based on that description of me, exactly nothing I want to happen this NFL season has happened. So basically, there’s no other way for it to end.

The Bears (14-4 overall, 6-1 UAA) beat Rochester 83-78 and topped Emory 99-88 in the final two contests of a four-game home stand.

Senior guard Dylan Richter, the Bears’ leading scorer at 17.3 points per game, dropped 56 points combined in the two games, including a career-high 33 against Emory.

Richter was nearly automatic from three-point range in the first half against the Eagles, cashing in five of seven attempts. He scored 16 of the Bears’ first 24 points, turning an eight-point deficit into a two-point advantage. The Bears took control from there, clamping down on defense and finding the open man on their offensive possessions.

Sophomore guard Alan Aboona led the display of precision passing with 10 of the Bears’ 14 first half assists. He finished with 12 total in the game.

The Red and Green took a 35-24 lead after Aboona lobbed a pass inside to sophomore forward Chris Klimek, who finished a layup and was fouled. Klimek missed the free throw, but the play secured momentum for the Bears.

Later in the half, freshman forward Matt Palucki scored seven straight points for a 46-30 lead, bringing the crowd to its feet for Emory’s final possession. A three-pointer by the Eagles made it 46-33 at the game’s midway point.

After scoring 21 points in the game’s first 20 minutes, Richter continued to put on a show in the second half, hitting four more three-pointers. In 38 minutes of play, he finished with nine makes on 13 attempts from downtown.

The Bears led 72-59 with 10:17 to play, but Emory would not go away quietly. The visiting team continued to apply a full-court press and harass the Bears’ ball-handlers in the half-court set. The Eagles’ three-point shots began to fall as well, helping them close in to 82-74 with 4:20 left. An errant pass by Klimek allowed the Eagles to retain possession, and they responded with a three-point basket to draw within five.

After Palucki hit two free throws at the other end, a reach-in call on sophomore guard Tim Cooney sent Emory to the free throw line for a one-and-one. But Emory’s Justin Resnick missed the first free throw, and Aboona found Palucki for a layup to make it 86-77 with under three minutes to play. Palucki had 19 points and 10 rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench.

Emory resorted to an ultimately futile fouling strategy for the remainder of the game.

“It’s tough with [Emory] because they’re really up-tempo,” Richter said. “They push the ball on the break and they’re full-court pressing the whole game, so it’s tough to keep up, but at the same time we tried not to play at their tempo—we tried to get it our pace. So once we get it to half-court, we set up a play, and we try to keep running our stuff.”

Two days earlier, junior guard Ben Hoener’s career-high 20 points off the bench helped the Red and Green eke out a win over Rochester. Wash. U. didn’t trail after the 9:08 mark in the first half, but its largest advantage was only 10 points. Rochester came within one point twice in the final six minutes, but the Bears managed to stay ahead each time.

“One of the things our team takes a lot of pride in this year is that we have a lot of depth…and we don’t really have drop-off coming in off the bench,” Hoener said. “And when your team is that deep, and there’s so many guys that contribute, you can maintain a high level of focus, a high level of play for a long time. And that definitely helped [against Rochester], especially in the second half.”

Richter poured in 23 points Friday on seven for 11 shooting, including three for seven three-point shooting.

Senior center Alex Toth had 10 points, seven rebounds and five steals, and Klimek chipped in 15 points on six for eight shooting.

The Bears will face Rochester again on Friday, Feb. 3, and Emory on Sunday, Feb. 5, but this time the games are on the road.

“It’s tough to go back-to-back with these two teams, and it’s tough to go on the road,” Richter said. “So we’re going to take [Monday] off, rest up a little bit and then prepare this week.”

Ben Gottesdiener | Student Life

Claire Schaeperkoetter drives past an Emory Univesity defender on Sunday. The Bears rebounded from a loss Friday night to No. 5 University of Rochester, to beat Emory 83-80.

The Bears defeated their rival, the Emory University Eagles, on Sunday afternoon. The game was hard-fought from start to finish and went into overtime before the Bears prevailed, 83-80.

Wash. U. went on a 10-2 run to start the game as captain and senior guard Dani Hoover hit two three-pointers.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” Hoover said. “They’re a run-and-jump team, very feisty, take a lot of three-pointers, and they’re dangerous when they get hot. We really wanted to come out and play our game and not let them be the aggressors.”

The Eagles refused to go away early, outdoing the Bears’ early run with an 11-0 run of their own. The rest of the half was back and forth, with the biggest lead of the game, 29-20, going to the Red and Green with 6:39 left in the first half. Wash. U. entered halftime with a 40-37 lead.

Both teams exchanged buckets to start the second half, but with 12 minutes left in the game, Emory took the lead on a three-pointer. The Bears were able to retake the lead with 10:51 remaining on a layup by freshman guard Maddy Scheppers, who led the team with a career-high 19 points.

“I think I was just taking my open shots,” Scheppers said.

The Eagles were able to take the lead again, however, and stretched it to six points with 5:15 remaining. With three minutes left in the game, Hoover hit a three-pointer to tie the score at 72 apiece.

“Sometimes it’s not how many points; it’s when they are,” Nancy Fahey, head coach, said of Hoover’s performance. “That was a big shot. We gave her the ball late in the game, and she’s small, and she wreaks some havoc out there.”

With 40 seconds left in the game, freshman forward Alyssa Johanson hit a jump shot to give the Bears a two-point lead.

“Four [freshmen] are receiving a lot of playing time in significant moments,” Fahey said. “They’re growing. I tell them right now that there are no freshmen on the team because their experience is way beyond that. We’ve had injuries—we’ve had that— but people don’t care. We have competition to play.”

However, Emory hit two foul shots with eight seconds to go to send the game into overtime.

In overtime the Bears came out strong and led 78-74 with 3:37 to play. The Eagles, however, took the lead after Emory’s Misha Jackson made a layup while being fouled and then hit the ensuing free throw. However, shortly after, Johanson was sent to the line, where she sank both of her free throws.

With nine seconds remaining, Wash. U. led 83-80, and Emory had the ball. The Bears stood strong and were able to force an errant three-pointer at the buzzer that fell short.

On Friday night the Bears faced the No. 5 University of Rochester Yellowjackets, who came into the game undefeated. The game was strongly contested and culminated with a last second effort by freshman Melissa Gilkey. Hoover led the team with 17 points and seven rebounds, and Johanson had a career-high 12 points.

“They’re a good defensive team and they’re a good offensive team,” Fahey said. “They took some things away from us, and they move the ball really well on offense. I was really proud of the fact that, yeah, we got behind, and good teams make good runs, but we made a good run right back.”

After trailing 5-3 in the first minute of the game, the Bears fired back and went on an 11-0 run. The Yellowjackets, however, later went on a 9-0 run to tie the game at 18 apiece. At the end of the first half the Bears trailed by five.

Rochester came out firing in the second half and extended their lead to 51-39. However, with 13 minutes remaining the Bears forced three turnovers to cut the Yellowjackets lead to six. The rest of the game was a back-and-forth battle with the teams trading buckets.

With 1:10 left in the game, Gilkey evened the score with a layup. With 19 seconds remaining the Yellowjackets retook the lead with a second-chance layup. Wash. U. was unable to convert on scoring chances when it got the ball back, but forced a turnover on the inbounds with three and half seconds left. Gilkey missed the basket on her final shot, and with the miss Wash. U. fell to 14-3 on the season. This was the first time in Rochester’s history that it defeated the Bears in the Field House.

“Of the top 10 teams in the country, three of them are UAA teams,” Fahey said. “It’s probably the toughest I’ve seen it. Losing at home certainly is tough, but we’ve got to go on the road and kind of fight back. We’re a very young team and so we’re really just trying to concentrate on the next game.”

Next up for the Bears is a two-game road trip to face the University of Rochester and Emory University again. The Bears play the Yellowjackets in Rochester on Friday at 6 p.m. EST and Emory in Atlanta at 2 p.m. EST on Sunday.

With additional reporting by Kurt Rohrbeck.