A nail-biting road win over Carnegie Mellon University secured the Washington University men’s basketball team sole possession of first place in the University Athletic Association going into Friday night’s home game against Brandeis University.

The Washington University men’s basketball team opened its 2011-12 season with a 91-64 win against MacMurray College on Tuesday. “You never know what to expect when you open the season,” head coach Mark Edwards said. “We’ve been working hard, but we haven’t had any type of opportunity to compete against someone from outside.

Entering this past weekend with just five games remaining in the regular season, the Washington University men’s basketball team couldn’t afford any more miscues in order to keep its playoff hopes alive.

The Washington University men’s basketball team relied on physical play, strong defense and a balanced offense to record victories this past weekend over Carnegie Mellon University and Case Western Reserve University.

Coming off of a four-game losing streak and six straight losses away from home, the Washington University men’s basketball team released some of its frustration on the court this past weekend. This took the form of an 80-76 win over New York University and a 70-36 trouncing of No. 21 Brandeis University. The Bears now stand at 8-8 (2-3 in conference) on the season.

Alan Aboona and Tim Cooney, two freshman guards, have answered that call and displayed their skill sets in the past few weeks, significantly impacting the team dynamic. “You have to maintain your focus all the time and you have to keep your intensity level up, and I think they bring that to the team,” head coach Mark Edwards said. “I think they are smart basketball players, so they are able to step into the team scheme and really make a contribution.”

This past weekend’s Lopata Classic basketball tournament featured one school that had never played a game in the United States before: Tsinghua University.

After snapping his humerus in the first week of the semester, X-ray technicians told Dylan Richter that he wouldn’t be able to play basketball this season. 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.

The Washington University men’s basketball team is now entering its first season since 2008 in which it is not the defending national champion. Four of last year’s starters, including All-Americans Sean Wallis and Aaron Thompson, are gone, and only one starter, senior Spencer Gay, is returning.

After winning two NCAA Division III national championships in his four-year tenure with the Washington University men’s basketball team, 2010 graduate Zach Kelly has officially taken the next step in his basketball career—to Leeds, England. He’ll start playing in the English Basketball League next month.