From Washington University Athletics
Senior guard Alan Aboona scored a game-high 27 points to lead No. 2-ranked Washington University in St. Louis past Wilmington College 100-69 in the first round of the 2014 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship Friday night at the WU Field House in St. Louis.
Washington University extended its winning streak to 19 games, and scored 100 points for the second time in school history in NCAA Tournament play.
Washington U. (24-2) advances to the second round for the third-straight year, and will take on No. 24 Calvin College Saturday at 7 p.m. The Knights defeated No. 23 Wittenberg University 66-51 in the first game Friday. Tyler Kruis had 19 points and seven boards in the win for Calvin.
"We came out tonight and executed and was very focused. We set the tone from the start of the game," said Aboona, who started his 70th-straight game Friday. "We got stops on defense which did not allow them to set up there press. Things were a lot smoother when we got into our offensive flow."
Washington U. came out of the locker room scoring the first 10 points of the game, as Wilmington was ice cold from the field missing its first four shots. A 12-1 run gave the Fightin' Quakers first lead of game at 12-11 after three-pointer by Law Williams with 13:31 to play. That would be the largest lead of the game for Wilmington.
Washington U. answered with a three-pointer of its own by junior guard David Fatoki to get the lead right back. Fatoki's three sparked an 11-2 run as the Bears took a 22-14 lead. Aboona dialed up a pair of three's and then sophomore guard Luke Silverman-Lloyd canned a three from the corner to give WUSTL its largest lead of the first half at 40-23 with 4:27 to play.
Aboona led the Bears with 14 points in the first half, while Klimek added 12. Silverman-Lloyd had eight points off the bench with two three-pointers. Washington U. shot 54.5 percent (18-33) from the field and had 12 assists on 18 made field goals.
Washington U. got the lead to 20 (54-34) after the first bucket of the game by junior forward Matt Palucki, and then Aboona scored eight of 10 points during an 11-2 run that put the game out of reach. Aboona's three-pointer and two free-throws made it 65-36 with 13:46 to play.
Silverman-Lloyd (13 points), senior guard Tim Cooney (12), senior forward Chris Klimek (12) and senior center Will Patt (11) also scored in double figures for Washington University. Patt was 5-for-5 from the field and eclipsed his previous career-high of eight points. The Bears shot 60.7 (37-61) from the field and hit 11-of-22 from three-point range in the win.
Wilmington, who was making its second NCAA appearance, ends its season with a 19-9 record. Malcolm Heard II led the way for the Fightin' Quakers with 16 points, and closes out his four-year career with 1,570 career points. Dwight Johnson (15 points) and Ben Vonderhaar (12) also scored in double figures.
BEAR NOTEBOOK: Washington U. has won both career meetings against Wilmington … The 19-game winning streak is the third longest in school history … The Bears are 23-1 this season when outrebounding its opponent … Washington U. is 15-0 at home this season … The Bears have won 21 of their last 25 NCAA Tournament games and improved to 32-15 all-time in the NCAA Division III Tournament … Klimek went over 1,100 points for his career in the win.