From Carnegie Mellon University Athletics
The No. 20-ranked Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team broke open a tie game with less than six minutes remaining with a 14-5 run as the Bears posted a 79-72 win over Webster University Wednesday night at the WU Field House in St. Louis.
WashU improves to 6-1 with the win, while Webster had its two-game winning streak snapped and fell to 3-4.
Sophomore forward Andrew Sanders had 17 points and six rebounds, while sophomore forward Matt Highsmith added a season-high 16 points and eight boards. Senior guard Luke Silverman-Lloyd had 13 second-half points, five rebounds and four assists, while junior forward Clinton Hooks added 10 points, five rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
WashU shot 52.7 percent (29-55) from the field in the win, and hit 16-of-18 from the free-throw line. The Bears had 22 assists on 29 field goals.
WashU hit 9-of-15 from the field to start the contest, but held onto an early two-point lead (20-18). Webster scored six-straight points to take a 24-20 lead, and then gained its largest lead of the game with 4:23 left before half (29-24) after a bucket by Hunter Ward.
Sophomore guard Kevin Kucera nailed two free-throws and Hooks followed with a three-pointer to tie the score at 29-29. Hooks canned another three-pointer from the corner with three seconds left to give the Bears a 39-35 lead at the half.
Highsmith had 10 first-half points to lead WashU, who shot 53.3 percent (16-30) from the field and hit 5-of-5 free-throws.
Silverman-Lloyd scored 10-straight points in a span of 4:32 in the second half, but WashU hung onto a two-point advantage at 53-51 with 11:05 to play. A lay-up by Etter with 5:36 to play tied the score at 61-61, but Highsmith scored on a lay-up and Silverman-Lloyd drained a three-pointer from 25-feet out to make it 66-61.
Webster got the lead down to two (68-66) with 3:35 to play on a three-pointer by Ward, but WashU scored the next seven points to put the game out of reach.
C.J. Moore (13 points), Tevin Evans (12), Ward (12) and Etter (10) scored in double figures for Webster, who hit 9-of-10 free-throws in the loss.
BEAR NOTEBOOK: WashU leads the all-time series with Webster, 22-2, and the Bears have won the last five meetings … The game featured 17 ties and 15 lead changes … WashU is 4-0 at home this season, and have a 105-17 record dating back to the 2006-07 season.