With 2:20 to play in the first half on Friday night against the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, the Washington University men’s basketball team was down 15 points. After a back and forth first ten minutes, Whitewater had pulled away, leading 41-26.

Then sophomore Justin Hardy made a layup.

The Bears seized on the layup and turned the game around, going on a 20-0 run that spanned halftime and that left them with a 46-41 lead three minutes into the second half. Wash. U. withstood a late Whitewater comeback to hold on and win, 90-86.

When Wash. U. again found itself down double digits on Saturday night against the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, the team again attempted a comeback. This time, however, the Bears could not prevail, and they fell to the Pioneers, 76-63. With the weekend split, Wash. U. is now 2-1 on the year.

“We played really well at times but also had areas that were exposed that we’ll really have to focus on here if we ultimately want to become the best version of ourselves that we can become this year,” head coach Pat Juckem said.

Juckem pointed to the 20-0 run on Friday as a strong point for the team. “We had a really strong finish at the end of the first half,” he said. The Bears had narrowed Whitewater’s lead to eight points by halftime. “We gained confidence from that. It’s a big difference from going into halftime with a double-digit deficit,” Juckem said.

“I don’t think anyone felt like we were down as much as we were at halftime,” Hardy said.

The Bears kept the momentum coming out of the break. They had eight straight stops to start the second half, including four steals, two by senior Jonathan Arenas. Even after a Whitewater timeout eventually reeled in the Wash. U. run, the Red and Green kept piling on the points. Junior Jack Nolan made six of his 10 second-half field goals and drained three of his six three-point attempts. Hardy, whose layup had started the 20-point run, added 18 points in the second half and had a career-high nine rebounds in the game.

Wash. U. had extended its lead to 13 points with 2:58 to play, 84-71, but Whitewater clawed its way back late in the game. The Warhawks went on an 8-0 run over the next 1:24, drawing within five points of the Bears with just over a minute and a half to play, 84-79.

Hardy and Nolan each drained two free throws to take advantage of late Whitewater fouls and maintain the lead, but the Warhawks would not go away quietly. When senior DeVaughn Rucker was fouled with six seconds to play, the Bears’ lead had shrunk to just two, 86-88.

Rucker, playing his first game of the regular season after sitting out the opener last weekend with a concussion, stepped up to the line. “We were in a position we wanted to be in, up two points and with two shots at the [foul] line to put it away,” Hardy said. “I’ve got all the confidence in the world in DeVaughn…He works harder than anyone and you see him in the gym before, after, on the off days, getting shots up, getting to the free throw line, making sure he’s gonna be ready for those big moments. It has proven itself time after time again.”

Just as he had in a major home game last year, Rucker made both baskets and the Bears were set. Whitewater attempted a three-pointer with two seconds remaining, but the attempt was futile and Wash. U. left victorious.

“Our effort on defense helped to create offense and we just allowed [Whitewater] to make mistakes while we just capitalized off of each other,” Rucker said of the Bears’ comeback.

In need of another comeback on Saturday night, Wash. U. fell short.

Platteville jumped out to an early lead with a quick three-pointer and never looked back, making more than half of its shots from the field on the night. “We didn’t take away their rhythm,” Juckem said. “Every time we close on the ball we want to take away the rhythm, and we were slow to do it. We didn’t get a hand up, and they got some confidence, they knocked some shots down early.”

The Bears trailed by nine going into halftime and never regained the lead. “It seemed like any time we would begin to go on a run we would give up a big-time three-pointer that would just bring [Platteville] right back into it,” Hardy said.

The Pioneers sank 14 three-pointers on the night, accounting for more than half of their total scoring. Wash. U., on the other hand, made just five from long range. After shooting 51.7% from the field on Friday night, the Bears made just 40.4% on Saturday.

“It was one of those games where we just couldn’t quite get over the hump and string enough stops together or quality possessions to make it a really competitive game down the stretch,” Juckem said.

Hardy led Wash. U. with 18 points on Saturday while Nolan had 13.

Both Juckem and the players said that the weekend demonstrated how the team needs to work on its defense going forward.

“Defensively is where we don’t possess the same amount of raw talent and that requires more physical effort, which varies throughout the game,” Rucker said.

“We are not executing our defense to our standards,” Juckem said. “Our guys are owning it and we’re going to—through our film study and our drill work in our practices this week—really continue to emphasize areas that are showing up as problems. I believe we have the opportunity to be a really good defensive team. So far, through three games, it’s been pretty spotty. We have to urgently work to improve that.”

Juckem framed the weekend as a learning experience. “The rationale behind scheduling games [against Whitewater and Platteville] is that those are NCAA tournament-caliber teams and we felt like this was a good opportunity to really test ourselves,” he said. “It was. I think we learned a lot in the process.”

The Bears have another back-to-back next weekend in the 36th Annual Lopata Classic at Wash. U. They face Coe College on Friday at 7 p.m. in their home opener before taking on the winner of the Whitworth University vs. University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire game on Saturday.