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.

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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.

Reoert Cohen | St. Louis Post-Dispatch | MCT

Fireworks light Busch Stadium following a Cardinals World Series victory celebration on Sunday, Oct. 30, 2011, at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Mo. The Cardinals defeated the Texas Rangers in a series that went seven games.

8. Football blows out Chicago to end its season – After a tough loss to Case Western Reserve University the previous week, junior quarterback Dan Burkett and the Red and Green offense let off some steam in the annual Founders Cup battle with the University of Chicago. Burkett lit up the Maroon defense for 316 yards and four touchdowns, and the defense suffocated the Chicago offense as the Bears rolled to a 38-20 victory.

7. Women’s golf dominates its fall season – Freshman Olivia Lugar jump-started the women’s golf program as soon as she stepped on campus this fall, winning four of her first five varsity tournaments this season. Junior Hannah Buck won the tournament that Lugar lost when Buck set a school-record score of 69 (-3). All in all, the Bears had a strong start to their 2011-12 season by demolishing the competition en route to four tournament victories and the lowest average round score in Division III golf. Lugar currently ranks as the No. 1 golfer in the nation.

6. Women’s soccer reaches the Elite 8 with comeback win – After overcoming injury after injury, most recently to senior forward Emma Brown, the women’s soccer team’s magical run through the NCAA play-offs looked to be coming to an end against the College of St. Benedict. The Blazers had a 1-0 lead late in the second half before Wash. U. kicked things into gear. Sophomore Lauren Steimle recorded her 11th goal of the season when she drilled in a shot after a deflection found her three yards from goal in the 77th minute. Senior Lee Ann Felder found the back of the net eight minutes later off a corner kick from sophomore Kate Doyle, and the Bears continued onwards.

5. Volleyball comes back to beat Emory in the University Athletic Association Championship – The volleyball team had its back against the wall. Emory University handed the Bears their first loss of the season on Oct. 16, and the Eagles had a 2-0 lead after winning the first two sets 25-22 and 25-16. Not to be denied, the Red and Green mounted a furious comeback, winning the remaining sets 25-17, 25-20 and 15-8. Senior Lauren Budde recorded four kills in the decisive fifth set and Wash. U. triumphed after a service error.

4. Men’s basketball upsets No. 1 Augustana College at home – Sporting eight players taller than 6’7” and the nation’s top ranking, Augustana College came in to the Lopata Classic with a lot of swagger. But it was the Wash. U. men’s basketball team, led by senior guard and Lopata Classic MVP Dylan Richter, that got the last laugh. Richter went four of seven from three-point range and overcame early foul trouble to score 27 points and lead the Bears to a 71-68 victory, prompting the holiday-garbed Bomb Squad to rush the court at the final buzzer.

3. Putterman wins men’s tennis regionals and finishes second nationally – Junior Adam Putterman ran the table to capture the 2011 ITA Central Region Men’s Tennis singles championship in late September, winning seven straight matches over four days. Putterman defeated Kenyon College’s C.J. Williams 6-4, 6-3 to advance to the USTA/ITA Small College Championships, where he defeated two more players before falling to Emory University’s Dillon Pottish in the finals.

2. Women’s cross country wins national championship, men finish third – The women’s cross country team earned the school’s first-ever national championship as all five point-scorers finished in the top 40. Senior Erica Jackey finished fourth individually with a season-best 21:04.21, and freshman Lucy Cheadle finished 20th with a season-best 21:28.59. On the men’s side, senior Michael Burnstein finished 10th overall with a time of 24:25.25, and senior Tucker Hartley came in 30th in 24:41.99, helping the men to a best-ever mark of third place.

1. Cardinals win the World Series – The Cardinals’ improbable run gripped the campus and prompted raucous celebration on multiple occasions. Professors sported their Cardinals gear, students gathered in crowds to watch the games anywhere that had a television and many found their way downtown to celebrate the Cardinals’ Game 7 victory. It was a time for the campus to come together. It was a great time to be a Wash. U. student.

Eric Chalifour | Student Life

Senior Spencer Gay drives to the basket in his final game in uniform for the Washington University Bears. Gay finished the game with 14 points and scored in double figures in 23 of 25 games this season.

Before Saturday’s contest at the Field House, the team honored its four seniors: Spencer Gay, Isaiah Honick, Caleb Knepper and Brett Sapp. Knepper also won the Pearce Award, which is given to a departing player for overall dedication to the team.

“Caleb’s attitude has been tremendous for all four years he has been at Wash. U.,” head coach Mark Edwards said. “This year, he came off the bench as a senior and an offensive threat, and it just worked better for us that way. He not only accepted it but relished in his role and provided good leadership for our team when we needed it.”

Because of poor shooting early in the game, the Bears trailed by five or more points for the majority of the first half.

“We made some mistakes early, couldn’t get the ball to go in, and then it was catch-up after that,” Edwards said.

With 12:59 left in the period, sophomore Ben Hoener pushed the ball from outside the arc to junior captain Dylan Richter for an electrifying alley-oop, making the score 15-7. However, the Maroons continued to fire and drain shots from all over the court.

“[Chicago] shot really well and hit some tough shots,” Hoener said.

Toward the end of the first half, the Bears narrowed Chicago’s advantage. A layup from freshman Tim Cooney and a jumper from sophomore Max Needle cut the lead to 31-27 by halftime. Hoener had five points, six assists and five rebounds in the first half, while Gay led the Bears with eight points. Gay ended the game with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Hoener drained a jump shot to start the second half and bring the Bears to within three points; however, Chicago responded with five unanswered points and grew the lead to 15 with 12:28 left.

The Bears fought back with a 16-6 run over the next seven minutes. Cooney scored 10 points during that span, but Wash. U. came only within five points. The Maroons drained three straight baskets with 3:40 remaining to lead by 12.

“We had our moments, but we just couldn’t get our game on track, and ultimately we just didn’t have enough in us,” Edwards said.

Hoener recorded his first career double-double, with 15 points and 10 assists, while Cooney tied his career-high of 19 points.

“Everybody had their moments,” Edwards said. “It was one of their games when we were trying to get everyone in sync, and we just came up short today.”

The team members were disappointed in the way they finished the season but remained positive, especially about the future.

“It’s not the way we wanted to end the season, but we are not defining our whole season by that game,” Richter said. “We went through a lot, had some great times and are going to remember our seniors.”

“If a few things had gone a different way, [the season] would be completely different,” Hoener said. “We had a few young guys play and gain valuable experience, so hopefully looking to next year we have a lot of people with good experience.”

Matt Mitgang | Student Life

Junior Dylan Richter goes up for a layup against New York University on Friday night. Richter scored 20 points in the win.

The Judges’ tough, quick interior defense forced the Bears to rely on their perimeter game for consistent offense. Senior Caleb Knepper rose to the challenge and exploded for 28 points, including 17 in the first half. Knepper hit seven of his first nine three-point attempts and finished the game 8-of-12 from beyond the arc. Junior Dylan Richter also scored 21 points.

“I’m ecstatic right now,” Richter said. “We knew coming into this game we needed to win one of the next two to have a winning season. We’ve lost a lot of close games, but we really wanted to get that win to solidify that, so it was a big relief.”

While the Bears struggled to win close games early in the season, head coach Mark Edwards explained that this game represented a significant reflection on the season and a major step in the team’s development.

“We played hard, we played with a lot of heart, we made some mistakes along the way, but we never quit believing, and we never quit playing together,” Edwards said.

On Friday, the Bears came back from an 11-point deficit during the second half to defeat the Violets. Richter led the surge with 20 points and 16 rebounds, recording his first career double-double. Senior Spencer Gay contributed 18 points and 11 rebounds.

“We’ve got enough talented players that on any given night, we have someone, if we need it, to play big,” Richter said. “We are all just trying to get some wins.”

Gay sat out for a combined three minutes over both games. Gay, who has scored in double figures in 22 of the team’s 24 games this season and leads the team with 16.4 points per game, has embraced his role as the workhorse of the team.

“I don’t really get tired. It’s fun being out there,” Gay said. “I spent my first few years sitting on the bench, so whenever I want to sit on the bench, I just remember what it’s like. I like to be on the floor.”

Though they won both games, the Bears struggled from the free-throw line, shooting only 55.1 percent from the stripe this weekend. The team understands that free throws provide the easiest way to close out games.

“Free throws are something we’ve harped on a lot this year,” Richter said. “It’s really an easy thing. It’s all mental. We’re all going to come in these next two days we have off and practice [free throws].”

The Bears will prepare to cap off the regular season at home at 3 p.m. Saturday against the University of Chicago. This will be the final game for seniors Gay, Knepper, Isaiah Honick and Brett Sapp.

“These kids are a joy to coach,” Edwards said. “They understand the nature of competition, and that’s why they’re playing basketball.”

Paul Goedeke | Student Life

Senior Spencer Gay gets past a Case Western Reserve University defender for a layup. Gay scored 22 points and blocked four shots in the men’s 80-65 victory on Sunday.

“We have a pretty physical team, and both teams tried to be physical back at us. They found out that we can handle it, and that made a difference,” head coach Mark Edwards said. “Our team is getting its pieces together; we just have to keep winning.”

Four Bears scored in double figures against Case Western Reserve on Sunday to power the team to an 80-65 victory. Senior Spencer Gay led the charge with 22 points and four blocks.

“We were struggling to work together and find our confidence, [but] it’s really coming along the last couple of games,” sophomore Robert Burnett said. “We’ve re-focused after a rough streak, and now we’re going after it. Our offense is coming along; it’s getting a lot smoother; we’re starting to find open men.”

The Spartans took an early 6-4 lead after sophomore forward Austin Fowler’s two three-pointers. Fowler, the leading scorer for Case Western, recorded 18 points but was limited for much of the game.

“We had a defensive game plan, and I think that our kids followed it very well,” Edwards said. “[Fowler] got quick shots when we weren’t ready for it, but after that, we tried to be ready for it.”

Gay’s three-point play with 16:28 left in the half gave the Bears a 7-6 lead, which they did not surrender.

After entering halftime with a 42-29 advantage, Wash. U. continued to push its lead. Two free throws from junior Alex Toth gave the Bears a 68-42 advantage with 5:56 remaining in regulation, their biggest lead of the game.

“I thought that [defense] was the key to the game,” Edwards said. “[Case] is a good offensive team, and I thought our kids competed very hard and had them taking bad shots…[and] turning the ball over.”

On Friday night against Carnegie Mellon, Burnett made his first career start in place of an injured Toth. Burnett recorded a double-double, picking up 12 points and 13 rebounds in the 70-62 Wash. U. victory.

“It was a good night. Coach gave me a chance to start, and I took advantage of it because I knew that it was my time,” Burnett said. “I was glad that I was able to come out and put up those numbers.”

Gay’s layup with 16:41 left in the first half gave the Red and Green a 7-2 lead. Gay led the offense with 16 points, while junior Dylan Richter scored 14.

The Tartans powered back, taking a 13-12 lead after two free throws five minutes later.

Senior Caleb Knepper hit back-to-back three-pointers off the bench to reclaim the lead for the Bears, who led at the break, 30-24. They opened the second half with a 9-0 run to put some distance between them and the Tartans.

“[Coming out of halftime], we were determined to knock them out flat,” Gay said. “The positive energy was there; we got big rebounds, and we got big stops.”

The Tartans slowly chipped away at the 15-point advantage, getting within two points of the Red and Green at the 4:54 mark.

With 54 seconds left, Richter found Burnett uncontested under the basket, setting up for a victory-sealing layup and a five-point advantage.

“Big Rob stepped up, and he filled a void,” Gay said. “He was a machine.”

With these two wins, Wash. U. moves into third place in the University Athletic Association standings (10-8, 4-3 UAA). Next, the Bears will hit the road for four crucial games, starting on Friday against CMU and continuing with Case Western Reserve on Sunday.

“We’ve got one goal at the end of the season, and that’s to keep playing. We know that we’re up against the ropes, and we’ve got to keep fighting,” Burnett said. “Every day, we come to practice, we fight hard and then we get ready for battle on Fridays and Sundays.”

Tip-off against Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh is at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

Johann Qua Hiansen | Student Life

Then-sophomore Dylan Richter brings the ball up the court in a Feb. 19 game against Case Western Reserve University. Richter broke his arm before this season began, but his quick recovery had him back in the lineup on Nov. 22 at Augustana College.

However, the junior co-captain of the Washington University men’s basketball team persevered through an unexpectedly short rehabilitation period and rejoined the Bears’ lineup on Nov. 22 against Augustana College.

Despite the initial diagnosis, Richter followed up with other doctors, who gave him a more optimistic timetable for his return. In his first doctor’s visit, Richter was told that he would be out for three to four months, but he was continuously surprised by his doctor’s insistence that he was recovering more quickly than expected.

“Each time I went in for a checkup, [my arm] was doing better and better,” Richter said. “I was able to come back and play in a little under three months, so it ended up working out well.”

The broken humerus marked the second serious injury in Richter’s college career. Near the end of his freshman season, a foot injury kept him on crutches for about three months.

Richter attributes his quick rehab to a device called a bone stimulator, which he had from the previous injury.

“You just basically plug [the bone stimulator] onto the area where you broke a bone, and it’s supposed to stimulate growth by attracting more blood cells to the area,” Richter said. “My mom likes to say that’s what made the difference, and I believe that probably had an effect on why [the recovery] went so fast.”

Despite reassuming his role as a leader and a playmaker for the Bears last week, Richter realized that he still had some work to do to get back to his peak performance on the court. Nevertheless, Richter couldn’t wait to rejoin his teammates.

“Whenever you’re out for a while, you kind of take for granted what you were able to do before,” Richter said. “I obviously lost some conditioning, and I haven’t played basketball in a while, so I’ve got a little ways to go with that, but being able to get back out there was awesome. I was ecstatic.”

Richter’s first and second games of the season were also the Bears’ second and third consecutive losses, and the team now stands at 2-3 on the season. Despite the slide, Richter is optimistic about the direction that the Bears are taking to establish their identity.

“Last year, it was pretty solidified who was playing, who was getting what shots, what people’s role on the team was,” Richter said. “This year, people are trying to see what their role is, and no one really knows what that’s going to be.”

Richter, one of four players on this year’s team who received significant playing time last year (along with seniors Spencer Gay and Caleb Knepper and junior Alex Toth), gave a vote of confidence to head coach Mark Edwards and his offensive system and believes that good execution under the system can turn the Bears’ losing streak around.

“We’ve just got to believe in each other, be held accountable for what we’re doing out on the court, and buy into Coach’s system because it’s proven. It works,” Richter said. “We’ve won two championships with it, and we’re planning on winning another one real soon.”

The Bears will host the 27th Annual Lopata Classic at the Field House this weekend and will play their home opener at 8 p.m. against Tsinghua University of China.

Sophomore Dylan Richter drives past a Rochester defender on Feb. 5. Richter scored 12 points against Brandeis on Friday. (Cedric Xia | Student Life)

Revenge is a dish best served cold. But in a rematch against No. 21 Brandeis University, the No. 3 Washington University men’s basketball team was far from cold. Shooting a combined 56.7 percent from the field during this past weekend, the Bears grabbed two more conference wins.

“Offensively, we were in a slump for a little while,” sophomore Dylan Richter said. “I guess we all collectively decided to get that out of the way now, so we’ll be ready for tournament time. We knew it was going to come to us, so it was just a matter of time before everything started clicking again, and the past two weekends it has.”

Friday’s matchup at Brandeis gave the Red and Green a chance to avenge a Jan. 15 home loss. Graduate student Sean Wallis led the team with a career-high 29 points, while senior Aaron Thompson added 25.

“They’re a very good team, there’s no doubt about that, and we had to play a great game…in order to beat them,” Wallis said. “Scoring a career high was icing on the cake, but I was just happy to get out of there with a win.”

The Judges maintained a small lead early in the first half, before Wallis’ three-pointer tied the score at 16 with 12:33 to go. The Bears would lead for the rest of the game.

Thompson’s three-pointer gave the Bears a 12-point lead with little more than five minutes left in the first half. The lead would remain into halftime, with the Bears ahead 44-32 at halftime. In the first half alone, Wash. U. shot 66.7 percent from the field (18 of 27).

“A lot of [the success] has to do with good shot selection,” head coach Mark Edwards said. “Our kids have been executing the offense well, and we’ve been ending up getting the shots we’re very comfortable taking.”

While the shots continued to rain in the second half for the away team, Brandeis picked up on the offensive end as well, cutting the lead down to just four points with 12:25 left in the game. More long-range shooting, however, pushed the Bears back out to a 72-57 lead.

“Aaron Thompson and Sean Wallis have been playing outstandingly for the past few months, so teams really key in on them, which gives everyone else the opportunity to roam around a little bit more and get a little bit more open,” Richter said. Richter had 12 points in the game.

The Judges mustered another run late in the half, but the lead was too much to overcome. The Red and Green left Waltham, Mass., with a 92-82 win.

“You never want to lose, especially on your home court, so when they beat us there, we knew we had to turn around and beat them back for that,” Richter said.

The Bears showed much of the same offensive success in Sunday’s matchup against New York University. Thompson again scored 25 points, with junior Spencer Gay adding 16. Wallis had 13 points and seven assists.

The Bears never trailed against the Violets, tying only twice in the game: 2-2 with just a minute into the game, and 11-11 with 11:37 to go in the first half.

A five-point halftime lead exploded in the final 20 minutes of play. Three straight three-pointers from Thompson gave the Red and Green a 38-24 advantage in less than two minutes.

With 1:10 left, a layup from NYU sophomore Andy Stein cut what was once a 16-point lead down to just six. Wash. U., however, held on for the 71-63 win.

With this win, the Bears secured at least a tie for the conference championship. A win over Case Western Reserve University at home this Friday would clinch the Bears’ second straight University Athletic Association title.

“First of all, to be able to go through the UAA and have six of our seven road games completed and having won them all, I think that’s really big,” Edwards said. “You’ve got to win the UAA to be a legitimate contender for the national championship, or to get in the NCAA tournament, so that’s our goal.”

With the weekend victories, the Bears regained the No. 1 ranking in the D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll.

Sophomore Dylan Richter moves around an Augustana College defender on Dec. 12. In Sunday’s away game against Carnegie Mellon University, Richter scored 15 points as the Bears won 81-60. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

Coming off of four straight games decided by five or fewer points, the Washington University men’s basketball team finally got some room to breathe. The Bears handed Carnegie Mellon University their 12th loss of the season with an 81-60 rout on Sunday in Pittsburgh.

For most of the first half, the game was tight, but in the last 4 minutes and 54 seconds, the Bears erupted for a 12-3 scoring run to enter the break with a 43-29 lead.

“We started running a little more, we got the wings ahead of the guards, and that really helped us out,” graduate student Sean Wallis said. “We were able to make some shots and finish some layups around the basket, so that put it out of reach after we picked up the tempo of the game.”

Wallis recorded a team-high 17 points in the rout.

“I think Sean brings the best out of the other players,” head coach Mark Edwards said. “He orchestrates the team. It’s a great gift that he has. I couldn’t be happier with the way that he’s playing in his fifth year.”

In the second half, the Tartans could not get within 14 points, as the Bears continued pouring onto the lead.

“I think they have a tough time keeping up with us and being able to keep track of all the stuff that we ran, and it showed,” Wallis said.

Sophomore Dylan Richter and junior Spencer Gay contributed 15 points and eight points, respectively, en route to the victory.

Gay, who was recently promoted to the starting lineup, has been rewarded for his elevated performance with increased playing time.

“It’s a lot easier to be ready to play as soon as I step out on the court as a starter,” Gay said. “I feel like it brings defensive intensity to get boards.”

Despite this considerable victory, Edwards knows that teams are always especially ready to face the notoriously talented Bears.

“It’s important to realize  that when we play teams this year, they are looking at us as an opportunity to establish themselves, to knock off the two-time defending champion, or whatever,” Edwards said. “We get everybody’s best game, and that’s kind of fun. We enjoy that.”

Sunday’s game was the second of a four-game road trip for the Bears. On Friday, the Red and Green bested Case Western Reserve University 66-61, led by Gay’s 16-point performance. Gay made three out of four free throws down the stretch to preserve the win. Next weekend, the Bears will travel to the University of Rochester and Emory University before returning home on Feb. 5 to face Rochester again.

“These two games next week are really big for us,” Wallis said. “If we can sneak out of next week with two more wins, that would really put us in a good position trying to win this conference.”

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.

Zoë Unruh, women’s basketball: The junior scored in double figures twice in five games during winter break, including a 12-point performance in a four-point victory at Capital University. She is averaging nine points per game this season as both a starter and reserve.

Karina Stridh, swimming and diving: The freshman submitted a NCAA provisional time in the 100-freestyle against Lindenwood University after she had already qualified for nationals in the same event at the Wheaton Invitational in December.

Alex Beyer, swimming and diving: The junior won two individual events and shared in a relay title in a dual meet against Wabash College Wednesday. He won the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:43.99 and the 200-yard butterfly in 1:57.60. He was also a member of the winning 400-yard medley team.

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