From Washington University Athletics
Senior center David Schmelter recorded his third-straight double-double to lead the No. 2-ranked Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team to a 77-63 win over the University of Rochester in front of 1,817 fans Friday at the WU Field House in St. Louis.
WashU has won nine-straight games and is 17-2 and 8-0 in the University Athletic Association (UAA), while Rochester has dropped three-straight and fell to 13-6 and 4-4 in the conference.
Senior guard Kevin Kucera (13 points), senior guard Jake Knupp (12 points) and senior forward Andrew Sanders (11 points, nine rebounds, five assists) also scored in double figures for the Bears. WashU hit 9-of-23 threes and 16-of-21 from the foul line in the win.
WashU started slow from the field hitting just 4-of-15, but a jumper by Schmelter gave the Bears an 11-7 lead. Freshman guard Jack Nolan hit a fast-break three-pointer and then a dunk by Schmelter made it 17-9.
Sophomore guard Matt Nester spearheaded a 7-0 run with three-pointer from the wing to push the advantage to 29-19 with 4:46 left before half. Rochester's Jacob Wittig nailed back-to-back threes to cut the lead to four (29-25), but Knupp drilled a pair of triples in the final minute to make it 38-30 at half.
Schmelter had seven points and eight rebounds as the Bears had a 27-20 advantage on the board and had 12 assists on 12 field goals. WashU limited Rochester to 35.3 percent (12-of-34) shooting, and the Yellowjackets were just 1-of-5 from the foul line.
WashU took a commanding 57-42 lead with 10:48 left after a 14-4 run that was capped by a jumper by Nolan. The Bears took their largest lead of the game with 6:19 left at 72-46. WashU was 8-for-8 in the second half from the foul line.
Wittig led Rochester with 14 points on 4-of-6 three-pointers. The Yellowjackets hit 10-of-23 threes and hit just 5-of-11 from the foul line.
BEAR NOTEBOOK
• WashU leads the all-time series with Rochester 39-25
• Sanders has scored in double figures in 29-straight games
• Sanders passed J.J. Siepierski (1993-97) into 19th on the all-time scoring list (1,140)
• WashU is 8-1 at home this season
• Schmelter moved into a tie for 10th all-time at WashU in blocks (83)
• Kucera went over 800 points for his career
• The Bears had the advantage in points off turnovers (14-3) and fast break points (15-2)
• All-time assist leader Sean Wallis was honored as member of WashU Sports Hall of Fame