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Jake Knupp Leads Bears Past Principia 71-57

Jake Knupp Leads Bears Past Principia 71-57
Posted: Nov 21, 2017

From Washington University Athletics

Senior guard Jake Knupp scored 18 of his career-high 25 points in the second half as the No. 9-ranked Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team opened a four-game road trip with a 71-57 road win Tuesday at Principia College in Elsah, Ill.

WashU improved to 3-0, while Principia dropped to 0-3. The Bears are off to a 3-0 start for the sixth-straight season.

Head coach Mark Edwards picked up career win number 666, and moved into a tie with Dennis Bridges (Illinois Wesleyan) for ninth in NCAA Division III history.

Knupp was 9-of-12 from the field, including 5-of-7 from three-point range. He also added seven rebounds and four assists in the win.

Principia came out in a 2-3 zone and gave the Bears' trouble, and built a 16-7 lead with 12:13 remaining that forced Edwards to call a 30-second timeout. WashU got back into the contest with a 7-0 run, but Principia answered back with a 6-0 run of its own to take the 24-16 lead.

Freshman guard Jack Nolan came off the bench and hit and pull-up, and then he canned a three-pointer to get the lead down to three. Senior center David Schmelter converted a three-point play just before half to trim the lead to 31-30.

WashU shot 30.3 percent (10-of-33) from the field in the opening half, and hit just 2-of-13 from three-point range. Nolan and Knupp led the Bears with seven points.

The Bears gained control of the contest with a 12-0 run to take a 44-35 lead with 13:14 to play. Knupp had a three-pointer from the corner with the shot clock expiring, and then Nolan came off the bench and drained his second three. Knupp drilled his third three-pointer of the game to make it 47-38.

Knupp continued to scorch the nets with two more threes to give the Bears the commanding 62-48 advantage.

Senior forward Andrew Sanders added 16 points and nine rebounds, while Nolan had 10 points off the bench.

WashU shot 38.7 percent for the game, including 48.3 percent in the second half. The Bears outrebounded Principia 43-24, including 18-2 on the offensive glass.

BEAR NOTEBOOK: WashU leads the all-time series with Principia 6-1, and the teams met for the first time since 2011 … The starters scored 61 of 71 points.