Fulton, Mo., Dec. 31, 2018 – Junior center Hank Hunter recorded his fourth double-double of the season with career-highs of 20 points and 13 rebounds to help lead the Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team to a 92-80 win at Westminster College (Mo.) in the final non-conference games for both teams Monday in Fulton, Mo.
Hunter was 8-of-13 from the field and 4-of-6 from the free-throw line in the victory. He leads the conference in field-goal percentage (.667) and is fourth in rebounds (8.2).
WashU improved its overall record to 7-4, while Westminster dropped to 4-7. The Bears open University Athletic Association (UAA) play on Saturday, Jan. 5, at the University of Chicago. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. in the Windy City.
Junior guard Matt Nester added 18 points and six rebounds, while freshman forward Justin Hardy had 17 points and eight boards. Junior guard Jonathan Arenas (10) and sophomore guard Jack Nolan (10) also scored in double figures for WashU.
WashU shot 52.5 percent (32-61) from the field in the win and outrebounded Westminster 43-17. The Bears also had a 27-7 advantage in second-chance points.
WashU started slow for the second-straight contest trailing 7-2, and then Nolanpicked up his second foul with 17:08 left. Nolan was held to two points in the first half.
Sophomore guard Payden Webb, who missed the first nine games with an injury, came off the bench to nail a three to trim the Westminster lead to 19-17 with 11:10 to play. The bucket for WashU was its first outside the paint.
Trailing 30-21 with less than eight minutes left, WashU ended the first half on a 21-4 run to take the 43-34 lead at half. The Bears limited Westminster to 1-for-9 shooting with three turnovers in the final 7:56.
Hunter led the Bears with 14 points and seven boards in the half, while Hardy had 11 points. WashU shot 58.6 percent (17-29) from the field and outrebounded Westminster 18-6.
Junior forward DeVaughn Rucker had the first two buckets for WashU to start the second half and then Nester drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key as the Bears took the 50-38 advantage.
Westminster got back into the contest with a 9-0 run to trim the lead to three, but Nester nailed a three on the ensuing possession to get the lead back to six (57-51). Nester drilled his third three of the game to make it 68-58 with 10:31 to play.
Nolan canned his first three of the game to extend the lead to 79-63 with 5:19 left.
Collin Caywood led Westminster with 21 points, Romo Tabb (18), Stu Hollandsworth (17) and Steven Brandt (11) also scored in double figures.
BEAR NOTEBOOK: WashU leads the all-time series with Westminster 21-6 … Nester has drained a three-pointer in 16-straight games, while Nolan has a streak of 15-consecutive games … The 92 points scored by WashU were a season-high.