Senior Hayden Doyle led the Bears in points against both Brandeis and NYU. (Ella Giere | Photo Editor)

The No. 10 WashU men’s basketball team faced a challenging weekend in conference play, losing to Brandeis University and No. 3 New York University in back-to-back road losses on Feb. 7 and 9. Despite strong individual performances, the Bears struggled to keep pace with two of the conference’s top teams, dropping to 15-5 overall and 5-4 in University Athletic Association (UAA) play as the regular season enters its final stretch.

The weekend began with a tough 86-79 loss to Brandeis on Friday night in Waltham, Massachusetts. Senior Hayden Doyle delivered a career-best performance, scoring 29 points and pulling down six rebounds, but WashU’s defensive struggles allowed Brandeis to control the tempo. The Bears showed resilience, battling back from multiple deficits and briefly taking the lead midway through the second half. However, Brandeis closed the game with a dominant stretch, capitalizing on key WashU turnovers and cold shooting in the final minutes.

After a tightly contested first half, WashU’s offense ignited coming out of the break, with Doyle, junior Will Grudzinski, and first-year Connor May leading a scoring surge that tied the game. 

The Bears even took the lead deep into the second half, fueled by back-to-back 3-pointers from Grudzinski and sophomore Emmett Lawton. But as the game wore on, Brandeis responded with an extended scoring run, tightening up defensively and limiting WashU’s opportunities. Despite a late push, the Judges iced the game at the free-throw line, leaving the Bears with their first loss of the weekend.

Things didn’t get any easier on Sunday when WashU faced off against No. 3 NYU in New York City. The high-powered Violets proved too much for the Bears, who fell 77-58 in a game where NYU’s defensive pressure and efficient shooting created problems. Doyle once again led the Bears, finishing with 20 points and four rebounds, while May added 14 points, but WashU never fully recovered from an early NYU scoring surge that built a double-digit, 35-25, lead in the first half.

NYU controlled the game from the perimeter, hitting timely 3-pointers and forcing the Bears into difficult shots. WashU’s offense, which had been dynamic throughout the season, struggled against NYU’s length and physicality. The Bears fought to cut into the deficit, stringing together small runs in the second half, but the Violets remained in control, never allowing WashU to get closer than 13 points in the final minutes.

Despite the setbacks, WashU remains in the thick of the UAA race and will look to bounce back in a critical weekend ahead. The Bears travel to Case Western Reserve University on Feb. 14 at 5:30 p.m. EST, followed by another road matchup against Carnegie Mellon on Feb. 16 at 2 p.m. EST. With just a handful of games left in the regular season, WashU will need to regroup quickly to solidify its position in the conference standings and make a push toward the postseason.