Walla Walla, Wash., November 18, 2011 — Freshman Brayden Teuscher scored 15 points and hit a jumper and two-free-throws with less than a minute to play as the Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team held on for a 68-65 overtime win at Whitman College on Friday night in Walla Walla, Wash.
Teuscher was 4-of-6 from the field and 5-of-6 from the foul line in the victory for Washington U., its second-straight to start the 2011-12 season. Sophomore Chris Klimek added a career-high 16 points and added eight rebounds in 31 minutes played, while senior Dylan Richterhad 12 points and five boards in 42 minutes of playing time.
Washington U. held onto a 54-45 lead with 4:59 to play, but was outscored 11-2 to send the game to overtime. Down one with the ball, Whitman's Brandon Shaw was fouled by sophomore Tim Cooney. He missed the first, and after a Washington U. timeout, drained the second to send the game to OT. The Bears were limited on field goal in the final 4:59 of the second half.
The Bears took the lead (60-59) for good in overtime following a lay-up by junior Ben Hoener with 2:39 to play, and then pushed the advantage to 64-61 following a jumper from Richter with 1:25 left.
Washington U. shot 45.6 percent (26-57) from the field for the game, including 83.3 percent (5-6) in overtime. The Bears struggled from beyond the arc hitting just 3-of-16, but made up for it by outscoring Whitman 38-28 in the paint.
Washington U.'s defense set the tone early in the first half, limiting Whitman to 1-of-7 shooting and three turnovers as the Bears held a 10-3 lead. Back-to-back lay-ups by Richter and Klimek pushed the advantage to 14-7, and then Teuscher came off the bench to nail a three to make it 19-12 with 8:28 to play.
A pair of free-throws by freshman Matt Palucki gave Washington U. its largest lead of the game at 27-14, and the Bears managed to hold a 29-17 lead heading into halftime. Whitman shot 29.2 percent (7-24) in the first half and was 0-for-8 from beyond the arc.
Shaw (18 points), David Michaels (13 points), Josh Duckworth (13 points) and LuQuam Thompson (11 points) all scored in double figures for Whitman, who shot 37.5 percent (21-56) from the field in the loss and had just six assists.
Washington University (2-0) closes its west coast road trip at No. 12 ranked Whitworth College on Sunday, Nov. 20. Game time is set for 3 p.m. (PT) in Spokane, Wash.
Bear Notebook: Washington U. defeated Whitman 77-60 in the teams' one previous meeting on Nov. 17, 2001, in St. Louis … Whitman was playing its 2011-12 season opener on Friday … The Missionaries were picked second in the Northwest Conference Coaches' Poll behind Whitworth … Washington U. was called for 27 fouls, which resulted in 28 free-throws by Whitman.