The WashU No. 10 men’s and No. 7 women’s basketball teams opened their seasons at home this past weekend, with the men winning their fourth consecutive Lopata Classic, and the women finishing as runners-up in the McWilliams Classic. Both teams won their openers on Friday, Nov. 6, to advance to the championship games on Saturday, Nov. 7, in the Field House. In the Lopata Classic, the men’s team defeated No. 5 Gustavus Adolphus College (GAC) 77-76 in overtime. The women’s team fought hard but ultimately fell 58-56 to the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater in the McWilliams Classic championship. 

Senior guard Ryan Cohen hit a buzzer beater to force overtime in the Lopata Classic championship game (Eric Xia | Contributing Photographer)

No. 10 men’s basketball

In its season opener on Friday, Nov. 6, WashU trailed Bethany Lutheran College 35-33 at halftime. In the second half, the Bears pulled away with a 14-0 run, cruising to a 90-69 win. Five Bears scored in double digits, including junior forward Anthony Przybilla, who had 14 points and eight rebounds.

In the tournament championship against GAC, WashU led the majority of the game but found itself trailing 59-52 with 4:37 left in regulation. The Bears clawed back to within 1 point multiple times, but GAC repeatedly knocked down free throws to maintain a 3-point lead with eight seconds left. 

“We really thought that they were gonna foul,” senior guard Ryan Cohen said. “And then we saw their players go up to the refs and say, ‘Hey, we’re not gonna foul.’ So my eyes kind of lit up.”

On the ensuing Bears possession, sophomore guard Josh Kim drove into the paint and found senior guard Lucas Vogel on the wing for a game-tying attempt. 

“I totally thought that shot was going in,” Cohen said. “But a million coaches will say this, and I’ve been unfortunately on the losing half of it: It’s never the first shot that beats you, it’s always the second one.”

While Vogel’s shot didn’t drop, first-year guard Stryckland Whittley-Ligon grabbed a rebound and kicked it out to Cohen. 

“It just came off like a normal shot,” Cohen said. “But looking back at it, it’s probably the number one shot of my career.”

Cohen buried a 3-pointer as the buzzer hit 0.0 to force overtime. 

“I don’t want to say we got lucky, but things went our way in those last eight seconds,” Cohen said. “We like to say the basketball gods were on our side there.”

In overtime, Przybilla came up big for the Bears, hitting a 3-pointer and then slamming home a dunk after a steal by Kim. This gave WashU a 4-point lead with two minutes left in overtime. 

Przybilla was named the tournament’s MVP for the second straight year, while he and Kim were selected to the All-Tournament team. 

In the final two minutes, GAC fought back, but the Bears held on despite a last-second dunk that cut the final margin to 1. 

“[Przybilla] is just a beast,” Cohen said. “Nobody really views him as a shooter, but to hit that clutch 3 so late was absolutely incredible.”

WashU outrebounded its opponents 44-31 in the opener and 39-32 in the final, something the team emphasized in the offseason.

Cohen said the game would have been valuable to the Bears even if they had lost.

“We got the win, and we’re super happy we got the win,” he said. “That [was] just such an incredible test to start our season.”

The Bears return to the court at home Friday, Nov. 13, against Millikin University.

Junior guard Hope Drake has 10 points this season (Sophie Pinsker | Contributing Photographer)

No. 7 women’s basketball

The Bears opened the 25th annual McWilliams Classic with a dominant performance against Central College on Friday, Nov. 6, building off of a 37-9 second-quarter lead and cruising to a 65-39 win.

The win was a true team effort: Ten Bears scored, 11 grabbed a rebound, and WashU recorded 18 assists to Central’s four. First-year guard Marycait Mackie delivered a standout WashU debut with 11 points, five boards, and five assists. Senior guard Alyssa Hughes led the team with 13 points, and senior center Lexy Harris added 12 points and nine rebounds. 

“Everyone has their own role on the team, and everyone’s doing a great job so far playing in that role,” Hughes said. “It was super cool that all of our hard work in the first three weeks of practice was able to show up in that Central game.”

The final on Saturday, Nov. 7, brought a tougher test against UW–Whitewater, who received votes in the national top-25 preseason poll. The matchup gave WashU the chance to avenge a 63-58 loss to Whitewater in last season’s opener.

Whitewater led for most of the contest, but WashU continued to fight and stay close. With the Bears trailing by 6 points late in the fourth quarter, Harris grabbed her own rebound and scored an and-one layup. She converted from the line to cut the deficit to 3. After forcing a shot-clock violation, Hughes was able to hit a clutch 3-pointer to tie that game at 56-56 in the final minute. Whitewater answered with a layup with 18 seconds remaining, securing a 58-56 victory. 

“We just had a few too many turnovers and gave up a few too many offensive rebounds,” Hughes said. “If we clean up some of those possessions and Whitewater has a few less, then the game definitely looks a bit different.”

Harris finished the tournament championship game with 15 points and 14 rebounds for her first double-double of the season. Hughes added 14 points, and both players made the All-Tournament team. 

The Bears defeated Elmhurst University 70-62 on the road on Tuesday, Nov. 10, and will return home to face Millikin University in the Field House on Nov. 22 at 1 p.m.