St. Louis, Mo., February 20, 2011 – Senior Caleb Knepper poured in a career-high 28 points on 8-of-12 shooting from three-point range to lead the Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team to a 77-75 victory over Brandeis University on Sunday afternoon at the Washington University Field House in St. Louis, Mo. With the win Washington University clinched its school-record 27th-consecutive winning season and secured a third-place finish in the University Athletic Association (UAA).
Junior Dylan Richter scored 21 points with four assists and senior Spencer Gay scored 13 points with seven assists; Gay has scored in double figures in 22-of-24 games played this season. The Bears shot 50.9 percent for the game and 45.5 percent (10-of-22) from three-point range in the win.
The first half featured a lot of offense from both teams, as Washington University and Brandeis both shot better than 50 percent from the floor during the first 20 minutes of action. Knepper came off the bench to score 17 in the first half and tied his career-high with five three-pointers.
Tyrone Hughes powered the Brandeis offensive attack with 16 points on 5-of-5 shooting, including 4-of-4 from three-point range. The Judges scored 37 points in the opening period and led by one at the half; the 37 points eclipsed their game total of 36 against Washington U. in a 70-36 loss in Waltham, Mass., on Jan. 23.
Washington U. used a 10-0 run to jump ahead by seven points 3:22 into the game, but Hughes' hot shooting pulled Brandeis back into the contest, and the Judges led 18-16 after Hughes stroked his third three-pointer of the half.
The Bears broke a 25-25 tie with back-to-back Knepper threes to pull back in front by six with under five minutes to play in the period, but Brandeis answered with a 12-5 run to close the period that ended with an Anthony Trapasso lay-up as time expired.
A crucial 12-0 Washington University run in the second half broke open a tight game. The Bears' scoring surge featured several big buckets from three different players. Freshman Kevin Bischoff fed Richter for a an ally-oop jam to put Washington U. up by four with 7:30 to play and Knepper drilled another three 30 seconds later to make the WUSTL cushion seven points. The run ended as Bischoff drove through the lane and hit a floater to make the score 69-57. Bischoff played a career-high 19 minutes scoring five points with five assists and no turnovers.
Three-point shooting brought Brandeis back into the game and a triple from Ben Bartoldus at the 1:21 mark made it a two-point, 73-71 game, but the Judges never came all the way back to tie the game. Hughes finished the game with a team-high 22 points but was just 6-of-12 from the free-throw line, including a crucial miss from the stripe with 11 seconds remaining.
Washington University closes out the 2010-11 season at home on Saturday, Feb. 26, against the University of Chicago. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. at the WU Field House. Prior to the contest, Washington U. will honor its four seniors who will be playing their final game in the Red and Green: Gay, Isaiah Honick, Knepper and Brett Sapp.
Bear Notebook: Washington U. now leads the all-time series with Brandeis, 37-9, and the Bears have won five of the last six meetings … Washington U. is 8-2 at home in 2010-11 and 67-8 (.890) dating back to the 2005-06 season.