Wheaton, Ill., December 11, 2010 – The Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team had its two-game win streak snapped with a 56-55 loss at Wheaton College on Saturday night in Wheaton, Ill. Washington U. falls to 4-4 with the loss, while Wheaton improves to 7-2.
Tied at 51-51, Andrew Jahns scored on a back-door lay-up and then Jeremy Pflederer hammered home a three-pointer from the top of the key to make it 56-51. Junior Alex Toth made two free-throws and then after a defensive stop by the Bears, freshman Alan Aboona connected on two fouls shot to cut the lead to one (56-55).
After Pflederer missed the front end of a one-and-one, the Bears called timeout with 21 seconds left. Washington U. ran the clock down to two seconds, but senior Spencer Gay's hook shot was off the mark at the buzzer.
Toth scored a season-high 16 points and pulled down nine rebounds, while junior Dylan Richter added 15 points and Gay recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards. Aboona finished with seven points and seven assists in the loss.
The Bears were limited to 44.2 percent (23-52) shooting in the loss, including 29.6 percent (8-27) in the second half. Preseason All-American Tim McCrary led Wheaton with 17 points and 13 rebounds, while Pflederer (14 points) and Spencer Schultze (10 points, 11 rebounds) also scored in double figures.
Washington U. built a 33-22 halftime advantage after shooting a sizzling 60 percent (15-25) from the field in the opening 20 minutes of play. Richter had 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field, while Gay added eight points and seven rebounds. The Bears had 12 assists and just six turnovers in the fist half, and scored 24 of their 33 points in the paint.
Schultze's lay-up capped an 8-0 run as the Thunder took a 17-10 lead with 8:21 left in the first half. Washington U. would dominate the final eight minutes of the first half, outscoring Wheaton, 23-5, as the Bears took a 33-22 lead to the locker room. Richter had nine of his 11 first-half points during an 11-2 run.
Washington U. held onto a 41-29 lead following a lay-up from Richter with 14:04 to play in the game. Wheaton would get the lead down to three (45-42) following a 13-4 run, as Pflederer nailed two three-pointers. A put-back by Toth got the lead back to five, but a three-pointer from the wing by Jahns and a lay-up by McCrary tied it at 47-47 with 6:50 to play.
Washington University concludes first semester play at home against No. 10 ranked Illinois Wesleyan University on Saturday, Dec. 18, at 3 p.m. The Titans improved to 7-1 with a 94-65 win over MacMurray College on Saturday at home.