Senior Drake Kindsvater surpassed 1,000 career points against Emory on Feb. 23 (Asher Lubin | Photographer)

Despite losing three straight games two weeks ago, the No. 18 WashU men’s basketball team has found their groove again with five straight wins as they near the end of the regular season. WashU defeated the University of Rochester 78-48 and No. 7 Emory University 85-75 on Feb. 21 and 23, respectively.

Head coach Pat Juckem attributes the team’s explosive offense that comes from being disruptive defensively. 

“I really think the catalyst tonight was our activity defensively,” he said. 

Senior forward Drake Kindsvater, who led the Bears against Rochester with 15 points and recorded two blocks and two steals, echoed Juckem’s sentiment. 

“I feel like we always take pride in our defense,” Kindsvater said. “We watch all their plays. We can prepare for that. I think that was the biggest key for this game.” 

Kindsvater also passed a career milestone against Emory surpassing the 1,000 career point marks in his last home game at WashU.

After a slow 12-10 start eight minutes into the game, the Bears’ defense helped create a large lead. With only three deflections in the first eight minutes of this matchup, WashU quadrupled its total, entering halftime with 13 deflections. Many of these defensive deflections provided WashU with more opportunities to transition and make quick and easy baskets, and put the Bears ahead by 26 points at the half.

The Rochester game celebrated Black History Month and had a high attendance which Juckem attributed to the Bears success.

“It’s certainly the beauty of playing at home,” Juckem said. “It’s exciting to play in front of a really amped-up crowd. I just appreciate knowing our students really have gotten behind our team and our teams the last couple years.” 

In addition to this team’s commitment to deflections, the Bears are focused on running in transition and playing with pace, particularly as they prepare for March Madness.  

“A really good team is hard to score on when their defense is set,” Juckem said. “If you can create advantage in transition, throw the ball ahead, [and] have Drake Kindsvater coming down the floor, no one knows exactly what’s going to happen.”

“If you look at all the analytics [for the] NBA [and] college basketball, the first seven seconds of the shot clock is the highest-efficiency time because you’re typically getting advantage shots,” Juckem added. “[Our] best is when we’re getting in transition.”

From the get-go in the Emory game, the energy and intensity was high in the Field House. Both Juckem and senior Hayden Doyle attributed the spirit of the game to the fans and the mutual respect both the teams have for each other.  

“I thought the fans were awesome today,” Doyle said. “Sometimes you don’t know what to expect, but I thought the fans were incredible. You could feel them, you could hear them. They definitely helped us win both games.”

The first shot of the game was taken within the first nine seconds: a good 3-pointer from the Eagles. WashU responded with a dominant 9-0 run. The Eagles tried to catch up, but the Bears continued to take high-quality shots. In the first half, WashU made 40% of their field goals compared to Emory’s 34% and 50% of their 3-pointers compared to Emory’s 25%. 

With seven minutes left in the half, the Eagles were up 22-21, taking their only other lead of the game. The Bears maintained the pressure and racked up rebounds, allowing them to enter halftime leading 39-32.

“I thought our guys did a good job of finding rhythm, finding pretty good shots, because you got to take good shots against [Emory],” Juckem said.

In the second half, the Bears made seven 3-pointers from behind the circle and only allowed the Eagles to have one. Of WashU’s made 3-pointers, Doyle alone had three deep shots in the second half, helping his team’s lead stretch as high as 13 points. 

“When I feel like I play a good game, a lot of it is just not a lot of thinking or even feeling,” Doyle said. “I feel the emotions of making a big shot and things like that. But you just try and keep playing. … My teammates and coaches trust me to take some tough shots, but having their trust and confidence in myself, that’s just really what it comes down to.”

Sophomore Ryan Cohen also contributed five to WashU’s total 3-pointer count, a new career high for him.  

The Bear’s ended their last home game of the regular season with an 85-75 victory, with a total of 39 points, 21 rebounds, and seven assists credited to the team’s two senior starters. The third senior, Kyle Beedon, is injured and is expecting to accept his fifth-year eligibility next season. 

“It’s a really special group, and they’ve left their mark,” Juckem said about the team’s senior class. 

With the win against top-ten Emory, the Bears will likely move up in the NPI rankings, which are used to determine the NCAA Tournament bracket and influence host sites for Division III March Madness.

WashU will play their final game of the regular season on the road against the University of Chicago on Mar. 1. A win against Chicago would propel WashU to 10-4 in conference play and a second-place finish in the University Athletic Association.

This article was updated on Feb. 25 to fix formatting issues and update the headline.