This contest was no different.

The No. 1 Bears could not overcome a seven-point deficit with 3:11 left in the game, losing 75-70 to Illinois Wesleyan University and ending the team’s run at a third straight national championship.

“We’ve won a lot of close games in our four years at Wash. U.,” senior co-captain Cameron Smith said, “and we have found a lot of different ways to make things happen throughout games, especially at the end of games: getting stops here, making big buckets there. This was just a game where we couldn’t make big plays happen at the end of the game. That was the only difference.”

Senior co-captain Aaron Thompson recorded 20 points in the game, but was limited in the game with foul trouble. Junior Spencer Gay had 14 points and 13 rebounds, but the Titans’ Sean Johnson scored 24 points.

A 7-0 run gave the Titans a 17-10 lead with 12:30 left in the first half. Turnovers and missed shots plagued the Bears, 2 of 9 from beyond the three-point arc in the period.

Thompson and graduate student Sean Wallis, a co-captain, were forced to sit through most of the first half because of foul trouble. The two combined for just four points and 18 minutes in the period.

With the Bears’ two leading scorers out of the game, the Titans maintained their lead.

“When you have two All-Americans on your team, and they’re both on the bench, it pretty much limits you, particularly when the team is used to counting on their scoring all year long and they’re not out there to give it to you,” Edwards said. “To me, that was the biggest problem we had.”

A layup with 1:18 left in the half gave the Titans an eight-point lead, its largest of the half, but the Red and Green managed to cut it just to three by halftime.

Thompson hit a three-pointer, his first of the night, only six seconds into the second period to tie the game. Gay gave the Bears the lead on the following possession, but it lasted only 23 seconds and would be the Bears’ only lead for the rest of the game.

“We were definitely capable of playing better than we did, but, at the same time, I’m not going to fault our kids,” head coach Mark Edwards said. “We got beaten by a team that was better than us that night. Whether they’re better than us overall, I don’t know, but they were that night.”

Sophomore Jordan Zimmer’s layup gave Illinois Wesleyan a 48-39 advantage with 14:18 left in the game. Aaron Thompson got the Red and Green within just one point at the 1:46 mark, but the Bears could not complete the comeback.

“It just seemed to me that we couldn’t get over the hump, couldn’t get the big stop that we needed when we needed it, and they just made some plays,” Smith said.

With the Titans up by just three with 15 seconds left, Doug Sexauer corralled an offensive rebound off a missed free throw. After he was fouled, his two free throws put the game out of reach.

“[The win] was definitely in our grasp,” Gay said. “The last play, there was a loose rebound, and we definitely had a chance, but it slipped out of our fingers.”

The loss snapped the Bears’ 14-game NCAA tournament win streak, and ended the careers of the winningest class in school history.

“We would be demeaning to the careers of our seniors and Sean [Wallis] if we focused upon just this one game,” Edwards said. “Obviously, in the locker room everybody was down, but that’s the emotion of sports. Once that wears off, and you look back at your accomplishments and what these guys have done together, you’ve got to feel good about that.”

“I’m sure in five years, when I look back at my career at Wash. U., I’m not going to remember this game, but right now it’s hard to think of much else, honestly, because you live for the game that you’re playing, not for your past successes,” Smith said. “Each game is the most important game you’ve ever played, so it hurts, but we’ll be all right.”

Graduate student Sean Wallis drives into the key in the championship game of the 26th annual Lopata Classic against Pomona-Pitzer College. Wash. U. won 76-50, with Wallis contributing 15 points and eight assists. (Paul Goedeke | Student Life)

The No. 1 Washington University men’s basketball team was deadly this weekend in the 26th annual Lopata Classic—deadly, of course, from beyond the arc.

In the 76-50 win in the championship game against Pomona-Pitzer College, the Bears connected on 13 of 26 three-pointers. Despite the final score, the game was hotly contested early on.

“You’ve got to take what they give you. Tonight they played the zone [defense], so we ended up getting jump shots,” head coach Mark Edwards said. “I think the key thing is that the players take good shots.”

The Bears connected on four straight three-pointers to open the game, taking a 12-5 lead with 15:44 left in the first half.

Pomona-Pitzer responded with a 16-6 run in the next five minutes, taking a three-point lead on senior David Liss’ jumper. Liss had 14 points in the first half and earned all-tournament honors.

“I don’t know if there was anything we could’ve done in the first half,” senior Cameron Smith said. “He’s a very quick player, and he hit some really tough shots.”

The Bears slowly pulled away from the Sagehens. Graduate student Sean Wallis’s four-point play with 2:47 left in the half pushed the lead to six. Wallis scored nine straight to give Wash. U. a 12-point advantage at the break.

The second half was all Bears.

Smith’s three-pointer with 13:41 left in the game stretched Wash. U.’s lead to 23. Smith was perfect from long range (4 for 4), and finished with 14 points.

“It just so happened that I was the guy who they kind of left open in the corner,” Smith said. “I got some really good looks, and when you get good looks, it’s nice to be able to knock them down.”

Liss, on the other hand, was limited to just two points in the second half. Pomona-Pitzer managed only 18 points and shot 29.3 percent from the field.

“It’s one thing to be able to hit shots 10 minutes into the game, and it’s another thing to hit one 30 minutes in the game,” Edwards said. “[Liss] was a very good player, but we were able to rotate people on him and have to make him work very hard, and by the end of the game, I think he was very tired.”

The lead, which was pushed to a game high of 29, sufficiently guaranteed a Bears win. Junior Caleb Knepper and sophomore Dylan Richter each added 11 points.

A similar lead in the first game of the tournament, against NAIA No. 5 McKendree University, almost did not.

A 47-22 Bears lead to start the second half of Friday night’s game was slowly dismantled by the Bearcats. Freshman John Steppe’s back-to-back triples cut the lead to just six with 14 minutes left in the game. Steppe finished the game with 19 points.

“That’s the way the game of basketball is,” Edwards said. “It’s played with two teams, and if they’re competitive teams, they’ll give each other good shots and there’ll be surges during the game.”

Senior Aaron Thompson’s consecutive three-point plays minutes later stopped the bleeding as part of a 10-0 run that increased the lead to 14. Thompson’s 21 points helped the Bears stave off the Bearcats in the final 10 minutes of the game.

“We just kind of stuck to what had been working, and getting good shots and finding the open man,” Wallis said. “That was the difference.”

Wash. U. came away with a 15-point victory, advancing to play the Sagehens in the tournament championship.

Wallis averaged 17.5 points and 6.8 assists per game, earning him the Robert L. Burnes tournament Most Valuable Player award. Smith and Thompson also earned spots on the all-tournament team.

“Obviously, it’s a nice honor, but I couldn’t be happier about my team going 2-0, more importantly,” Wallis said. “I’m looking forward to this week. We’ve got some huge games, so hopefully we can keep it rolling.”

Washington University (5-0) returns to action on Wednesday, Dec. 9, against No. 6 Wheaton College before taking on No. 21 Augustana College on Saturday, Dec. 12. Both games tip off at 7 p.m.

The No. 16 women’s team (14-4, 6-1 UAA) will rematch No. 15 NYU (16-2, 5-2 UAA) tonight at 6 p.m., five days after the Bears defeated the then-No. 8 ranked Violets 63-53. Sophomore Kathryn Berger posted a team-high 11 points in the victory, the 10th win for the Bears in their past 11 games.

During halftime of the women’s game, the 2008 Washington University Sports Hall of Fame class will be recognized. Ten of the newest inductees are former student-athletes, including Tasha Rodgers, a member of all four women’s basketball NCAA National Championship teams from 1998-2001, and Kevin Folkl, the men’s basketball team’s ninth all-time leading scorer and career leader in field goal percentage.

Also being inducted are two Distinguished Service Honorees, Hord Hardin (’35) and W. Edward Lansche (’48), bringing the total in the Hall of Fame to 132.

The men’s basketball team, ranked No. 2 in Division III nationally (17-1, 7-0 UAA), will then play NYU (13-5, 2-5 UAA) at 8 p.m. Junior guard Aaron Thompson will look to continue his hot streak, having scored 29 points in Sunday’s 67-56 win. Thompson is averaging 18.6 points per game for the season and has led the Bears in scoring the past five games.

The St. Louis Rams cheerleaders will perform during halftime of the men’s game and will be signing autographs after the game.

“[The Rams cheerleaders] actually contacted us and wanted to come perform at Wash. U., and they’re actually tied in with somebody who is affiliated with [the University],” said Trevor MacDonald, director of marketing and external relations for Washington University Athletics.

Tonight is also Eliot Night, where many of the contributors to University and athletic funding are invited to attend both games and a dinner beforehand.

Trying to remain perfect in UAA conference play, the men will play Brandeis University on Sunday at noon. Brandeis (12-6, 5-2 UAA) is the No. 2 team in the UAA and will be looking for revenge after a close 80-75 loss on Friday, Jan. 30 in which the Judges gave up the most points they had all season.

Despite having four players score in double figures, the Judges were bested by Wash. U.’s balanced offense and Thompson’s 18 points.

“Rematch games are always a little bit harder, especially offensively, because the other team gets to make defense adjustments. But if you flip that around, we get to make defensive adjustments also,” junior forward Cameron Smith said. “Every game in the UAA is going to be a dogfight, and Brandeis is one of the better teams [in the conference] this year, and we know they’re going to come to play on Sunday.”

Sunday, Feb. 8 is the second annual Youth Day, featuring free autographs from all of the basketball players, face painting, J.J. Jumper (the NCAA mascot), giveaways and much more youth-centered programming.

“We’ve done a lot of clinics throughout the year where kids keep coming back because they need a Sean Wallis or a Tyler Nading, and they want to come back and see them play and say hello to them. I think it’s nice to see the kids come out and get to see their idols play, and meet them and get their autographs,” MacDonald said.

At 2 p.m., the women take the court in another tough battle against No. 24 Brandeis (13-4, 3-4 UAA). Last weekend, the Bears defeated Brandeis 61-55 in a come-from-behind victory.

This weekend’s women’s games are of added importance given how close the UAA standings currently are. Wash. U. and No. 3 Rochester are tied atop the conference at 6-1 while NYU is only one game behind at 5-2. Rochester will face Emory and Case Western Reserve University this weekend, both of whom are 2-5 in conference play while Brandeis and NYU will also face the University of Chicago (13-5, 4-3 UAA) this weekend.

Wash. U. defeated Brandeis 80-75 on Friday night in Waltham, Mass. and then knocked off NYU 67-56 on Sunday afternoon in New York City.

Five Bears scored in double figures against Brandeis, which entered the game allowing a UAA-low 62.2 points per game. A week after being named UAA athlete of the week, junior guard Aaron Thompson led all scorers with 18 points and junior forward Cameron Smith tied a career-high with 15 points on 6-6 shooting from the field. Senior forward Tyler Nading and freshman forward Alex Toth also scored in double figures with 12 and 11 points respectively while senior guard Sean Wallis posted his fourth double-double of the year with 12 points and a game-high 11 assists.

The 80 points were the most Brandeis has allowed all season.

“When we got our shots, we knocked ’em down,” Smith said. “When you play against a good team, you have to make open shots and we did.”

The teams traded buckets early in the first half before Wash. U. went on an 11-1 run to jump ahead 22-12. A layup by Toth with 3:41 left put the Bears up 35-26, but a three-pointer from Kevin Olson and a layup by Andrew Magee cut the Bears’ halftime lead to 37-33.

The Red and Green began the second half by hitting 10 of 16 shots, but the Judges hung in the game. Thompson put Wash. U. up 61-50 at the halfway mark of the period with a deep three-pointer and then a 15-footer, but Olson nailed two threes and Andre Roberson added another to trim the lead to 63-59 with 7:44 remaining.

Wash. U. led 71-63 with 4:29 left when a Brandeis dancer was injured during a time-out, delaying the game for 30 minutes. The Bears struggled after the bizarre incident, and Brandeis scored five straight points to cut the lead to 71-68.

“[The break] definitely changed the whole feel of the game, because the last four and a half minutes were just bizarre. It was almost like starting a new game because you never wait 30 minutes during games,” Smith said. “It was one of the weirdest things I’ve ever been a part of in a basketball game.”

Wash. U. was able to regain its composure after the brief Brandeis run when Smith hit a three-pointer in the corner with 2:33 left to put the team up 74-68. Wallis and Thompson then went 6-6 from the free-throw line collectively down the stretch to seal the victory.

Against NYU on Sunday, Thompson led the way for the Bears by pouring in 29 points on 9-19 shooting, including 5 of 9 from three-point range. It was the sixth time Thompson has scored at least 20 points in a game this season and his third-highest total of the year.

The rest of the team struggled offensively, as the Bears shot just 39.6 percent from the field for the game and 1 for 5 from three-point range in the second half.

It was the Wash. U. defense that ensured another victory, holding NYU to 44.4 percent shooting and forcing 17 turnovers. The Bears also outscored NYU 20-12 in points off turnovers and 16-0 in second-chance points.

“They were really physical, and on a Sunday after two weekends of travel, it’s kind of tough to get up for that Sunday game. But we started getting some shots to go and then pretty much just controlled the boards and defensively really handled them,” Thompson said.

The Bears started slow, missing their first seven shots from the field and falling behind 9-0. Back-to-back three-pointers by Thompson ignited an astonishing 28-3 Wash. U. run. During the run, the Bears hit six three-pointers, including five from Thompson, and held NYU without a field goal for nearly nine minutes.

“A.T. [Thompson] was the catalyst today,” Smith said. “We were not putting the ball in the hole, and then A.T. hits five threes…and all of a sudden you look up at the board and its 28-12.”

Wash. U. entered halftime leading 34-25 and built the lead to 42-31 to start the second half before D.J. Glavan got the Violets back into the game by rattling off seven straight points. NYU got as close as 54-50, but did not score in the final 1:58 of the game as the Bears sealed the victory on a Wallis three-pointer and free throws by Wallis and Thompson.

Wash. U. will begin the second half of conference play by returning home to face these teams again. The Bears play NYU on Friday at 8 p.m. and then square off against Brandeis on Sunday at noon.

The Bears cruised to an 85-57 victory over Hamilton (4-1) on Friday night in the season’s home opener and then knocked off No. 13 Illinois Wesleyan (3-2) in a back-and-forth battle 93-86 on Saturday afternoon at the Wash. U. Field House.

Against Hamilton, five Bears scored in double figures, led by senior forward Tyler Nading’s 16 points and 10 rebounds. Senior point guard Sean Wallis added 10 points and four assists, while freshman guard Dylan Richter and sophomore forward Caleb Knepper each had 11 points off the bench. Freshman forward Alex Toth added 10 more points from the bench in the rout.

The Red and Green wasted no time pulling ahead of Hamilton, taking a 13-4 lead five minutes into the game on a Wallis three-pointer. The first half lead grew to as high as 20 after a jumper by Toth put Wash. U. up 39-19.

Hamilton cut the lead to 49-34 and pulled within 10 points less than seven minutes into the second half. Wash. U., however, responded with a 14-0 run during which five different players scored, extending the lead to 69-45.

Wash. U.’s bench outscored Hamilton’s 46-19, and the team out-rebounded the Continentals 49-21. The Bears entered the game out-rebounding their opponents by an average of 11.2 boards a game this season.

“This year we’ve just been controlling the glass,” Wallis said. “It’s not a coincidence that we’re 6-0 because, especially in…tight games, we do a great job keeping teams from getting second chances.”

The Red and Green faced a much tougher challenge against Illinois Wesleyan (IWU) on Saturday. Both teams entered the game averaging more than 80 points per game, and in the first half, their offenses did not disappoint, both shooting more than 50 percent from the field.

IWU jumped out to an early 11-6 lead, but Richter kept Wash. U. in the game by pouring in 11 points in the first 8:02. A Richter layup on a dish from Wallis cut the Titans’ lead to 22-19, and the Bears tied the score at 29-29 on a layin by junior forward Zach Kelly.

The two sides traded buckets for the next six minutes of play before Knepper drilled a long three-pointer at the 2:47 mark to give Wash. U. its first lead at 41-39 since the opening minutes of the game. The Bears took a 46-43 lead into halftime despite trailing most of the first half.

IWU struggled out of the gate in the second half, and Wash. U. built a nine-point lead, its largest of the game. The Titans got back on track, tying the score at 59-59 on a layup by Edmund O’Callaghan and then taking their first lead of the second half on a pair of Sean Dwyer free throws to go up 63-62.

The Red and Green once again pulled ahead, going back up by nine points on a Toth layup to make the score 80-71, but Illinois Wesleyan went on a 7-0 run to pull within two points.

With the score at 83-80, junior forward Cameron Smith saved an errant pass from going out of bounds and tossed it to Nading with just four seconds remaining on the shot clock. Nading launched and drilled a deep three-pointer as the shot clock expired to put the Red and Green up 86-80 and effectively seal the victory.

“That was a great play by Cam,” Nading said. “I got the ball and saw [that] we didn’t have any time left on the shot clock, so I just kind of let it go. Fortunately, I practice those in practice.”

Smith’s two free throws with 13.5 seconds remaining gave the Bears 93-86 victory, their 13th straight win dating back to last season.

Nading finished the game with 20 points and nine rebounds while junior guard Aaron Thompson added 16 points and 10 assists and Richter poured in a career-high 15 points.

“[Illinois Wesleyan] is a good team, they’re well-coached and there are a lot of relationships between the two teams. Some of these kids have grown up with each other,” Head Coach Mark Edwards said. “We’ve always had a great rivalry with them, and it was a lot of fun.”

Despite the victories, the Bears did suffer a scare when Wallis went down late in the second half and left the court limping. He did not return and was diagnosed with a sprained knee.

“Sean is doing okay,” Edwards said. “Obviously I was concerned about him…but it’s nothing too serious.”

Wash. U. returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 13 at 3 p.m. at home against Fontbonne University. The Bears defeated Fontbonne 73-57 last season and are 9-1 all-time against the Griffins.

Behind the lights, cameras and exciting displays of athletic accomplishment are a host of different stories that have not been covered by the mainstream media.

“This is certainly more than just a sporting event for the Chinese,” senior Sarah Starr, who interned for NBC in Beijing, said.

Senior Tyler Nading and junior Cameron Smith were part of a small group of Wash. U. students who went to Beijing for some classes. Both Nading and Smith blogged about their experiences for the Athletic Department.

“We went to Bejing to study environmental and energy issues at two of the top universities in China—Tsinghua and Peking,” Smith said.

According to Nading, the Chinese government increased emissions standards, halted construction, shut down factories and allowed cars into the city based on their license plates. New buildings and highways were constructed all over Beijing with a special lane for accredited Olympic vehicles that were allowed to go a minimum of 56 miles per hour. Sparkling new cabs and buses filled the streets while Olympic tickets functioned as subway passes.

“Everywhere you go, there are people wearing Olympic shirts, watching Olympic events on public televisions, and everyone here avidly follows every event,” freshman Luke Ding said in an e-mail from Beijing. “Almost everywhere you go, people are talking of how many medals China has won.”

“No matter what turns the air pollution or political issues take, the Chinese people will make these games memorable,” Smith said. The surge of patriotic fervor caused thousands of Chinese citizens to volunteer at various venues. The blue-shirted volunteers helped tourists with directions, checked bags at security, took tickets and posed for souvenir photos.

Students noted that security had been incredibly tight at all the venues with active military sites nearby. Bags were x-rayed in the subway system and at all the venues. Fans were not allowed to bring in drinks or food to the Olympic Games and had to pass through a metal detector.

The security did not deter the Chinese from cheering on their nation. Televisions all over Beijing were tuned to Olympic events, especially when Chinese athletes were competing.

According to the Associated Press, more than one billion people watched the men’s basketball game against China, which the U.S. won by 31 points. Though tickets to all events had been sold out, Wash. U. students remarked that there were many empty seats, especially for the less popular sports.

Other stories weren’t broadcast in China.

“You hear only of good news, like a European praising the Chinese food and great culture,” freshman Anne Cheng, who saw judo and a practice of the opening ceremony, said. “You don’t hear of the crazy guy who passed security at Gu Lou and stabbed two Americans to death with a knife, or the bus that got bombed.”

“Some people welcome the Olympics wholeheartedly, and their passion is very contagious,” Cheng said. “Other people can be indifferent, or even annoyed toward the Olympics because it is changing their lifestyle drastically.”

Other stories didn’t get media exposure overseas.

“People in the U.S. should know that there is a lot to the Olympics besides Michael Phelps,” Starr said in an e-mail. “I watched a doubles ping pong match in which one of the players had only one arm.”

A large variety of Olympic souvenirs were also available, from T-shirts to replica models of the Olympic torch. “People may not be aware of the fervor surrounding pin trading,” Starr said. “I don’t know what their actual value is, but having a good collection of pins is a big deal.”

Wash. U. alum Liz Campbell (’08) probably had one of the best souvenirs from Beijing.

Campbell was seated in the centerfield bleachers, talking with her friends about catching a home run ball. Natasha Watley of Team USA stepped to the plate at the top of the second inning and blasted a homer in the softball opener between the U.S. and Venezuela.

“The only thing I was thinking as the ball came toward me was to catch it,” Campbell said.

Campbell didn’t catch the ball.

“For a split second, I was devastated until I looked up into my friend’s hands,” Campbell said. “The three of us immediately broke into a roaring U-S-A chant.”

Campbell’s friend gave her the ball.

The cameras followed the ball all the way to Campbell and her friends. Her father, who was halfway around the world, recorded the game on the DVR. “We played it over and over to relive the moment,” Campbell said.

Campbell also shared how a runner had been running his last lap alone in the 5,000-meter track event. “However, you wouldn’t be able to tell he was last from the amount of applause he received as he crossed the finish line,” Campbell said.

Those students who were in Beijing this summer created amazing memories of the people and their experiences.

“My most vivid memory that I will bring back is that of Cameron trying on a women’s silk robe that he was very, very close to purchasing despite my warnings,” Nading said. “Oh, I wish he had.”