Junior point guard Hayden Doyle scored 23 points in the Bears’ opening game of the season against Swarthmore College. (Elle Su | Student Life)

In the vibrant world of Washington University sports, the esteemed title of “Scholar Champions” harmoniously fuses academic brilliance with athletic prowess. So, as the curtain rose on the inaugural Scholar’s Classic tournament in New York, the collective anticipation among men’s basketball enthusiasts soared — logically expecting nothing less than a triumph for the Bears, the quintessential scholars of the court.

Over the past weekend, the Bears, true to their title as Scholar Champions, secured consecutive victories against top-ranked DIII teams. This unique tournament, tailor-made for the scholarly elite, witnessed the Bears — who were ranked #22 in the preseason poll — schooling #11 ranked Swarthmore University with a remarkable 20-point victory on Saturday, Nov. 11. The next day, riding high on this academic-athletic synergy, they entered a hard-fought battle against #12 ranked Johns Hopkins University. After a back-and-forth affair that culminated in an impressive second-half surge by the Bears, WashU ultimately clinched a victory by 6 points, leaving them as the only team to win both of their games in the Scholars Classic. 

In their season-opener against Swarthmore — a team that made it all the way to last year’s Final Four — the Bears wasted no time asserting their dominance, with juniors Hayden Doyle and Drake Kindsvater guiding the charge. Doyle led the effort with a career-high 23 points alongside a team-high nine rebounds, while Kindsvater poured in 20 points on over 58% shooting to complement his five rebounds.

But while Doyle and Kindsvater led the team in scoring, the Bears also answered the uncertainties surrounding their frontcourt. After losing three of their four primary big men from last season, the Bears entered the seasons with questions about filling the void. The answer? A group effort. Sophomore Calvin Kapral, who earned the starting nod, junior Kyle Beedon, and freshman Jake Davis all logged vital minutes. The trio helped turn the area of uncertainty into a difference-making strength Saturday night, as the Bears out-rebounded their opponents 36-27 and outscored them 50-30 in the paint.

Despite the impressive offensive efficiency, the true game-changer emerged in the realm of defensive fundamentals, with the Bears limiting Swarthmore to just 56 points, their third-lowest tally in a game since the start of the 2021-2022 season. As Doyle pointed out, these fundamentals were marked by “Disrupting their rhythm a little bit, pressuring the ball and kind of trying to make them uncomfortable, so they can’t get into the actions that they wanted to get into.”

Echoing Doyle’s sentiments, head coach Pat Juckem described the team’s defensive approach, stating, “Our guys exuded aggression, confidence, and a sense of connection. Even when Swarthmore made shots, they were shots we could accept. They’re an exceptional team, and they’re capable of making tough shots. We minimized our defensive breakdowns and forced them to take contested shots.”

WashU’s defense has long been a strength of the team and a key to their success. Last season, the Bears allowed just 62.1 points per game on average, the best mark in the highly competitive University Athletic Association (UAA). They also boasted an impressive 19-1 record when they held opponents below 70 points, a feat they were able to accomplish in both games this weekend. Though this year will be their first without Charlie Jacob, the two-time UAA Defensive Player of the Year who graduated last year, their performances from this weekend indicate that their defensive capabilities are not going away despite losing last year’s keystone player. 

Following the victory over Swarthmore, the team had a quick turnaround of less than 24 hours before they faced Johns Hopkins the following day.  Unlike Saturday’s game, where the Bears went into halftime with a large lead and sustained it throughout the second half, WashU faced an 11-point hole when Sunday’s first-half buzzer rang. Despite this challenge, Coach Juckem remained confident, reflecting and reminding the players to stay focused on their pre-game plan. 

“We thought it wasn’t that we weren’t playing hard enough or executing properly. So we focused on what we call the blueprint, how we attack, reminding [the players] that, ‘Hey, we have to do XYZ more.’” 

These words set the stage for an impressive strategic turnaround. The Bears, determined and disciplined, implemented the necessary changes. The result? A remarkable comeback, marked by an 18-5 run, erased the deficit and propelled WashU to seize control of the game. As Doyle puts it, “The vibe from the guys and coaches was like, ‘Stay cool, just focus on the next play.’ I mean, there’s no 11-point magic trick, right? So, we just had to keep grinding, making those smart moves. And we did pretty darn well. Defensively, we turned up the energy—more hustle, tighter on the ball.” The players, guided by the blueprint and fueled by their coach’s confidence and trust in them, managed to hold off a late Johns Hopkins effort to move to 2-0 on their season. 

While Kindsvater and Doyle were again the leading scorers with 14 and 12 points, the offensive weight was carried more evenly in the second game. Sophomore guard Yogi Oliff scored 10 points, as did Beedon in a career-high game, and sophomore sharpshooter Will Grudzinski added nine, six of which came from three-pointers. 

Following these results, the Bears eagerly anticipate the 39th annual Lopata Classic, a tournament hosted at WashU. The upcoming home slate opens with a 7 p.m. tip-off against Babson College on Friday. After establishing their national relevance with two statement wins over top-12 ranked teams, the Bears will hope to keep the momentum flowing into their home opener.