From Washington University Athletics
The No. 4-ranked Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team shot a season-high 64.7 percent from the field in an 84-49 win over Carthage College Friday afternoon at Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz, Calif.
Washington U. improved to 5-0 with the win, while Carthage dropped to 2-3. The 49 points allowed by Washington U. was it's lowest since a 70-36 win at Brandeis University on Jan. 23, 2011.
Senior forward Nick Burt tied his career-high with 17 points and six assists, while senior forward Matt Palucki added 12 points and five boards. Sophomore guard Michael Bregman added a career-best 10 points off the bench on 4-of-4 shooting as the Washington University bench outscored Carthage 43-16.
Freshman forward Matt Highsmith added nine points in the win, while junior forward Brandon Staffeil had a season-high eight points on 4-for-4 shooting. Washington U. hit 33-of-51 from the field, including 7-of-13 from three-point range. The Bears had a season-high 28 assists, and outrebounded Carthage 34-27. Washington U. also had a season-high nine steals in the win.
Neither team led by more than six points in a tightly contested opening 10 minutes of the first half. A three-pointer by Bregman gave Washington U. a 25-19 lead with 8:13 to play, but Carthage scored four-straight points at the foul line to trim the lead to two.
Bregman drilled an 18-footer to kick-start a 9-0 run as the Bears built a double-digit lead at 34-23 with less than four minutes to play. After a bucket by the Red Men, Highsmith converted his second three-point play of the half to push the lead to 37-25.
Washington U. scored the final eight points of the half, including a three-pointer by sophomore Clinton Hooks with less than a minute to play, as the Bears built a 45-28 halftime advantage. The Bears shot 63 percent (17-of-27) from the field and hit 4-of-6 from three-point range in the first half. Burt had 10 points and five assists, while Palucki added nine and Highsmith had eight.
Carthage came out in a zone in the second half, and Washington U. drilled its first four shots to extend the advantage to 55-32 after three-pointers by Palucki and junior guard Luke Silverman-Lloyd.
Reese Herth scored 11 points to lead Carthage, who shot 31.4 percent (16-51) from the field and 6-of-26 from three-point range.
Washington U. takes on Fontbonne University in Santa Cruz, Calif., on Saturday, Nov. 29, at 5 p.m. (PT) in the final game of a six game road trip. The Griffins (0-3) have dropped their first three games by an average of 15.3 points per game.
Bear Notebook: Washington U. and Carthage have split the two meetings all-time … The 35-point win was the largest margin of victory since a 95-58 win at home vs. Carnegie Mellon on Feb. 21, 2010 … Palucki went over 900 points for his career … The Bears are 5-0 for the first time since the 2012-13 season and seventh time under head coach Mark Edwards … Washington U. has won 13-straight games away from home dating back to last season.