From Washington University Athletics
The Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team ran its record to 4-0 with a 74-49 win Friday night at Spalding University in Louisville, Ky.
WashU broke open a tie game (13-13) midway through the opening half with a 31-4 run to take a commanding 44-17 halftime lead.
Sophomore guard Kevin Kucera scored a career-best 16 points and had four assists and three steals, while sophomore Andrew Sanders added 14 points points and seven rebounds. Senior guard Luke Silverman-Lloyd had 12 points and junior forward Clinton Hooks added 11.
WashU connected on a season-high 29-of-38 free-throws in the win, and shot 44.4 percent (20-45) from the field. The Bears had their top defensive game of the season limiting Spalding to 36.5 percent (19-of-52) shooting, including 18.8 percent (3-of-18 from beyond the arc.
"Our guys showed good poise throughout the game and stayed with our system despite their aggressiveness," said WashU head coach Mark Edwards, who picked up his 631stcareer win. "Our defense was very effective. We were able to get a contribution from a lot of different players."
Leading 30-15, WashU broke the game open with three-pointers on three-straight possessions. Kucera canned a pair of threes and Hooks added one as WashU scored 20-straight points in a span of 4:46.
Sanders (14) and Kucera (14) led the Bears in the opening half as WashU scorched the nets at 50 percent (11-for-22) from the field and hit 5-of-7 threes.
Spalding (1-3) had three plays scored in double figures: Rylan Rowe (14), Brandon Goeing (13) and Nick Trisko (12). The Golden Eagles outrebounded WashU 31-28, but committed 14 turnovers.
BEAR NOTEBOOK: WashU leads the all-time series with Spalding 2-0 … The Bears off to a 4-0 start for the fourth-straight season … Sanders has led WashU in scoring in three of four games played … The Bears are one of 60 NCAA Division III teams that remain undefeated.