From Washington University Athletics
The No. 1-ranked Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team had all five starters score in double figures as the Bears extended there road winning streak to 16 games with a 88-78 win at Coe College Saturday afternoon in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
With the win, the Bears improve to 11-0 for the first time since the 2002-03 season, and for the second in school history. Coe had its had two-game win streak snapped and fell to 5-3.
Washington U. shot 50.9 percent (29-57) from the field in the win, and hit a blistering 92.6 percent (25-27) from the foul line. The Bears outrebounded Coe 38-30 and 17 assists in the win.
Washington U. started slow offensively hitting two of its first seven shots from the field and trailed 10-4 after back-to-back three pointers from the Kohawks. Coe scored 15 of its first 21 points from three-point range and had a 21-16 advantage with 10:20 to play after a three by Max Schmarzo.
Junior guard Luke Silverman-Lloyd highlighted a 10-2 run for Washington U. with five points as the Bears built a 29-25 advantage. Silverman-Lloyd nailed a three from the corner and added a pair of free-throws during the run.
After a bucket by Coe, the Bears went on a 12-1 run to build its largest lead of the half at 41-28 with 2:22 to play. The lead did not last long as Coe ended the half on a 9-0 run with three-consecutive three-pointers to make it 41-37.
The Bears shot 50 percent (15-30) from the field in the opening half and hit 8-of-8 from the free-throw line. Junior forward Mitch Styczynski led all scorers with 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting, while senior forward Matt Palucki had eight. Coe, who entered the game averaging 8.3 threes made per game, stayed in the contest by hitting 8-of-16 from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes.
Coe scored the first six points of the second half to grab the 43-41 lead and force a timeout by Washington U. head coach Mark Edwards. The Bears got an open lay-up by senior forward Nick Burt out of the timeout to knot the score at 43-43 and end the 15-0 run by the Kohawks.
The Bears defense clamped down on the Kohawks three-point shooting in the second half, limiting Coe to 6-of-16. A steal and a lay-up by senior guard David Fatoki capped a 6-0 run to give the Bears a 57-52 lead, and then a three by Silverman-Lloyd from the corner pushed the advantage to double figures at 66-56 with eight minutes left.
Palucki recorded his third-straight double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds. He connected on 13-of-14 from the foul line, and is now shooting a conference-best 88.7 percent this season. Styczynski added a career-high 19 points and nine boards on 9-of-11 shooting, while Silverman-Lloyd (13 points), Fatoki (12) and Burt (12) also scored in double figures. Fatoki dished out a career-high 11 assists and had just one turnover in 35 minutes played.
Matt Daoust (15), Schmarzo (15), JT Vonderhaar (15) and Jacob Timm (14) all scored in double figures for Coe, who hit 14-of-32 from three-point range and just 6-of-15 from the free-throw line.
Washington U. will have 20 days off before opening conference play at the University of Chicago on Saturday, Jan. 10. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. at the Ratner Athletics Center in the Windy City.
Bear Notebook: Washington U. has won five all-time meetings with Coe … The Bears have outrebounded eight of 11 opponents this season … Washington U. is 6-0 this season on Saturday … Palucki started his 65-straight game while Burt made the start for the 38th-straight contest … The Bears finished the 2014 calendar year with a 28-1 record.