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No. 8 Washington University Defends Its Way Past Carnegie Mellon, 70-47

No. 8 Washington University Defends Its Way Past Carnegie Mellon, 70-47
Posted: Jan 27, 2017

From Washington University Athletics

The No. 8-ranked Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team beat Carnegie Mellon University 70-47 in University Athletic Associaiton (UAA) play on Friday evening.

WashU improved its overall record to 14-3, 6-0 in the conference, while CMU fell to 9-8, 3-3 in the UAA. The Bears have won eight-straight games, their longest winning streak since the 2014-15 season. WashU has won 11-straight UAA games, the third longest conference winning streak in the country.

Junior Andrew Sanders was the game's leading scorer with 22 points, as the Tampa, Fla.-native worked his way to the free throw line 17 times. Junior David Schmelter finished the game with his first double-double of the season, scoring 10 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

WashU limited its turnovers to 11 turnovers while causing 19 by the Tartans. The Bears had a 20-4 advantage in points off turnovers, and outrebounded CMU 48-41.

Junior Keivn Kucera gave the Bears their first lead of the game with a first half buzzer beating three. After receiving an inbound pass with less than 10 seconds left Kucera raced down the court and used a screen to break free from the defender to put WashU ahead 26-23.

The leading scorer at the break was Sanders as he finished the half with 12 points. Sanders worked his way to the free throw line 11 times, making six to go along with three baskets from the field. Schmelter added five points for the Bears as well as securing nine of his game-leading 10 rebounds.

The Bears offense and defense were clicking on all cylinders to open the second half as five players contributed points within the first six minutes of play. WashU worked its way to a double-digit lead on junior Jake Knupp's offensive put-back. Seconds later senior Clinton Hooks hit a three-pointer which increased the Bears lead to 41-28 at the 14 minute mark.

Sanders added two free throws to the Bears 22-8 run as WashU outscored CMU 44-24 in the second half. The Bears finished the game on an 8-2 run on a basket from Marcus Meyer and three-pointers by Matt Nester and Sasha Sobolev.

Colin McNeil led CMU with 11 points off the bench as the Bears held the Tartans to 31.4 percent from the field (16-51).

BEAR NOTEBOOK: WashU leads the all-time series with Carnegie Mellon 48-9… The Bears are 9-1 away from home this year, and have won four-straight road games.