St. Louis, Mo., Feb. 14, 2020 – Junior Jack Nolan scored 14 of his team high 18 points and hit a 25-foot three-pointer with 29 seconds left to seal a 77-71 victory for the Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team over Case Western Reserve University Friday at the WU Field House in St. Louis.
WashU outscored Case 7-0 in the final 1:46 to secure the victory.
WashU improved to 17-4 and 8-2 in the University Athletic Association (UAA), while Case had its three-game win streak snapped and fell to 11-10 and 4-6 in the conference. The Bears sit in a tie with No. 9 Emory for first place in the UAA standings with four games remaining.
WashU hosts Carnegie Mellon University on Sunday, Feb. 16, at Noon. Prior to the game WashU will honors its five seniors: Jonathan Arenas, Hank Hunter, Matt Nester, Louis Reinmiller and DeVaughn Rucker).
Rucker finished with 17 points and six rebounds, while junior Payden Webb had 11 points off the bench.
WashU opened with an 8-2 run to start the contest, and then three-pointers by Webb and sophomore Charlie Jacob pushed the advantage to 20-9.
A 13-1 run by Case gave the Spartans their first lead of the game at 25-23.
Tied at 29-29 with 5:57 before half, Case went on an 8-0 run to take a 37-29 advantage. The Bears cut the halftime deficit to four (43-39) with a bucket by Jacob.
Rucker led the Bears with 10 points as WashU shot 50.0 percent (16-32) from the field but turned the ball over 10 times. Ryan Newton led Case with 11 points as the Spartans had an 18-4 advantage on points off turnovers.
Jacob's second three of the game gave WashU the 50-48 lead with 15:16 to play and highlighted an 8-2 run. Sophomore Justin Hardy's dunk put the Bears up 69-68 with 3:12 to play. A free throw by Rucker made it 70-68, but a three by Cole Frilling put Case up by one with 1:46 to play.
The Spartans shot just 34.4 percent (11-32) in the second half, and hit just 4-of-17 from three-point range.
Newton led all scorers with 20 points and six boards off the bench, while Frilling had 15 points. Michael Hollis just missed a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds. Case shot 42.6 percent (29-68) from the field, and hit 11-of-35 from three-point range, and had a 24-8 advantage in points off turnovers.
BEAR NOTEBOOK: WashU leads the all-time series with Case Western Reserve 51-5, and the Bears have won the last 11 meetings… The Bears are 10-1 at home this season, and 20-4 in two seasons under head coach Pat Juckem… Hardy had nine points, seven rebounds and four assists, while Jacob added eight and tied a season high with four assists … The score was tied six times and there were 14 lead changes.