St. Louis, Mo., December 10, 2011 – Senior Dylan Richter scored 25 points and senior Alex Toth added a career-best 19 points as the Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team posted a 77-68 victory over No. 17 ranked Wheaton College (Ill.) on Saturday night at the WU Field House in St. Louis, Mo.
Richter hit 5-of-10 three-pointers and recorded his third-consecutive game with 20 or more points. He is averaging 24.7 points per game in the last three contests and has hit 14-of-28 three-pointers. Toth scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half, and hit 7-of-13 from the field and 5-of-5 from the foul line.
Freshman Brayden Teuscher added eight points and three assists, while freshman Matt Palucki had seven points and a career-high 11 rebounds.
Washington U. shot a season-best 53.8 percent (28-52) from the field, and hit 6-of-14 three-pointers. The Bears outrebounded Wheaton, 34-26, and had a season-high 24 assists on 28 field goals. Sophomore Alan Aboona (seven assists) and junior Ben Hoener (six assists) combined to split time at the point guard position and had a combined 13 assists and just four turnovers.
Wheaton held onto an 18-15 advantage midway through the first half, but an 8-0 run by the Bears gave Washington U. a 23-18 lead. Teuscher and Richter nailed back-to-back three-pointers and freshman Nick Burt had a lay-up during the run. Another lay-up by Burt and a three-pointer by Richter forced a timeout by Wheaton with 6:44 to play.
Following the timeout, Burt and junior Robert Burnett each recorded a bucket to extend the lead to 32-22. Washington U. took a 41-34 lead to the locker room after shooting 56.7 percent (17-30) from the field. The Bears had 14 assists on 17 field goals, and hit 5-of-9 from three-point range. Richter led all scorers with 16 points on four three-pointers.
Wheaton (7-2) cut the lead to two at 52-50 with 12:03 remaining on a jumper by Jeremy Pflederer, but that would be as close as the Thunder would get. The Bears responded with a 7-0 run to get the lead back to nine at 59-50. Washington U. took its largest lead of the game at 77-61 following a lay-up by Richter on a long pass from Aboona.
Aaron Garriott (21 points), Tim McCrary (15 points, eight rebounds) and Nate Serenius (12 points) each scored in double figures for Wheaton, which dropped its overall record to 7-2. The Thunder shot 43.9 percent (25-57) from the field in the loss, and hit 12-of-14 from the free-throw.
Washington University (7-2) begins a two-game road trip to end first semester play at Illinois Wesleyan University on Saturday, Dec. 17, in Bloomington, Ill. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. at the Shirk Center. Illinois Wesleyan has a 6-2 overall record, and posted an 84-63 win at the University of Chicago on Saturday.
Bear Notebook: Washington University leads the all-time series with Wheaton, 13-8 … The win for head coach Mark Edwards was the 549th of his career … Richter has scored in doubles figures a team-best seven times, this season, while Toth reach double digits for the third time … The Bears have outrebounded eight of nine opponents … Washington U. is 2-1 against top-25 teams this season.