From Washington University Athletics
The No. 2-ranked Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team used a balanced attack as five players scored in double figures to defeat No. 22 University of Rochester 77-62 on the road during University Athletic Association (UAA) play Friday evening at the Louis Alexander Palestra arena.
WashU has won seven-straight games and is 15-2 and 6-0 in the UAA. Rochester's four game winning streak comes to a close as the Yellowjackets fell to 13-4 and 4-2 in the UAA. The Bears 6-0 record in UAA play is the third time in the past four seasons that WashU has reached that mark.
The Bears held Rochester to 29.4-percent from three-point range (10-34) while making 10 of their own on 23 attempts (43.5%). WashU also held a 46-32 rebounding advantage as senior David Schmelter finished with his fourth double-double of the season scoring 11 points with 15 boards.
The Bears increased their road UAA winning streak to 13-consecutive contests dating back to 2015-16. Freshman Jack Nolan led WashU with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting including 5-of-8 from beyond the arc.
Also reaching double figure scoring for the Bears were seniors Kevin Kucera (12), Schmelter (11), Jake Knupp (10) and Andrew Sanders (10). Sanders increased his streak to 29-straight games of scoring 10 or more points and moved within three points of passing Dylan Richter (2007-12) for 21st all-time in scoring at WashU.
Nolan scored eight consecutive points to turn a one-point Bear deficit to a seven-point lead, 26-19. Rochester answered with a jumper before another 8-0 run led the Bears to a double digit lead.
Sophomore Hank Hunter started the second run with a second chance basket before back-to-back triples by Nolan and sophomore Matt Nester. The Red & Green's second run of eight unanswered points pushed the WashU lead to 34-21. Rochester trimmed the halftime lead to 43-33 as Nolan led all scorers with 13 points.
The Bears held Rochester to 29 points in the second half of play on 10-of-31 shooting from the field. Similarly to the first half, WashU utilized three runs of six unanswered points to increase its lead to a game-high 17 points on a three-pointer by Kucera with 4:02 to play.
Nolan hit the Bears final shot of the game with 2:10 to play while Rochester's Michael Mangan converted the final bucket with a 1:52 remaining for the final score of 77-62.
Rochester's Ryan Clamage led all scorer's with 22 points while also securing a team-high six boards.
WashU wraps up its four-game road trip on Sunday, January 28, at No. 13-ranked Emory University. Tip-off is set for Noon (ET) in Atlanta.
BEAR NOTEBOOK
• WashU leads the all-time series with Rochester 38-25
• Sanders has scored in double figures in 29-straight games
• Sanders is three shy of passing Dylan Richter (2007-12) into 21st on the all-time scoring list
• The Bears are 4-5 against ranked teams the last two seasons, including 2-1 this season
• WashU is 9-1 away from home this season
• Highsmith is one point shy of 800 for his career