From Washington University Athletics
Senior forward Nick Burt scored a career-high 20 points and added nine rebounds to lead the No.7-ranked Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team to a 79-59 win over Carnegie Mellon University Friday at the WU Field House in St. Louis.
Senior point guard David Fatoki added 11 points, a career-high 12 assists and set a Washington U. school record with eight steals in the win. Fatoki, who did not commit a turnover in 27 minutes played, is fourth in NCAA Division III with 128 assists (7.5 apg).
Junior forward Mitch Styczynski added 15 points and eight rebounds, while senior forward Matt Palucki had 11 points and eight rebounds. Washington U. had 22 assists and a season-low four turnovers and hit 16-of-20 from the free-throw line in the win.
Washington U. improved to 15-2, 4-2 in the University Athletic Association (UAA) with the win, while Carnegie Mellon suffered its fourth-straight loss and dropped to 10-7, 1-5 in the UAA. Washington U. moved into a four-way tie for first in the UAA standings with Case Western Reserve University, University of Chicago and Emory University.
The Bears jumped out to an early 16-5 lead seven minutes into the contest as Styczynski had six early points. Fatoki scored 10 straight points for Washington U. as the Bears held onto a double-figure lead to 23-13 with 9:49 left before half.
Carnegie Mellon got back into the contest behind the play of its bench, and a lay-up by Chris Shkil with 7:58 left cut the advantage to 25-20. Leading by three, the Bears ended the first half on a 9-2 run to take a 42-32 lead.
Fatoki had 10 points and four rebounds to lead the Bears in the first half, while Styczynski added nine points and five boards. The Bears shot 44.7 percent (17-of-38) from the field and had 10 assists and just one turnover. Washington U. also had an 11-3 advantage in points off turnovers.
Fatoki set the tone on the defensive end in the second half with seven steals. The Bears broke open the second half with a 10-0 run. Burt had six points during the decisive run, with all three buckets assisted by Fatoki. Burt's lay-up with 6:02 to play gave Washington U. a 68-48 with 6:02 to play.
Serbin led Carnegie Mellon with 17 points, nine rebounds and four blocks, while Seth Cordts and Shkil added nine points. The Tartans shot 42 percent (21-of-50) from the field, and hit just 3-of-15 from three-point range.
Bear Notebook: Washington U. leads the all-time series with Carnegie Mellon 45-8, and the Bears have won 13 of the last 14 meetings … The Tartans entered the game leading the UAA in in field-goal percentage defense (.381), three-point field-goal percentage (.420) and blocked shots (5.9) … Washington U. has posted a 6-0 record at home in 2014-15, and has a 101-12 (.893) record dating back to the 2006-07 season … Palucki passed Dylan Richter (2007-11) into 20th on the all-time scoring list with 1,113 points … Fatoki recorded his fifth game with 10 or more assists.