St. Louis, Mo., January 7, 2012 – Senior Dylan Richter scored 20 points and sophomore Tim Cooney tied a career-high with 19 points as the Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team opened University Athletic Association (UAA) play with a 79-72 victory over the University of Chicago on Saturday afternoon at the WU Field House in St. Louis.
Richter scored 12 of his 20 points in the second half, while also pulling down a season-high nine boards. Cooney was perfect from the field (7-of-7), and hit all three from three-point range in the win. He also tied his career-high with six assists, and added four rebounds and two steals in 30 minutes off the bench.
Sophomore Chris Klimek added 13 points and seven boards, as he started his first game since Nov. 25 after missing six games with an injury. Junior Ben Hoener had a season-high nine points and five assists off the bench. Washington U. shot 49.1 percent (28-57) from the field, and had 22 assists and a season-low seven turnovers. The Bears also outscored the Maroons, 34-13, in bench points.
Chicago had an 11-8 lead in the opening five minutes of the game, but Washington U.'s bench ignited a 13-2 run to put the Bears up 21-13 with 12:04 to play. Cooney had five points in the run, including a three-pointer and a fast-break dunk. The bucket by Cooney at the 12:04 mark would be the final points for the Bears for the next seven minutes.
The Maroons scored the next 17 points to take their largest lead of the game at 30-21 with 4:36 to play. Matt Johnson had 12 of the 17 points for Chicago, including a pair of banked three-pointers and a four-point play.
Cooney came back in off the bench and made an immediate impact, as he scored 10-straight points with a pair of three-pointers, two free-throws and an alley-oop dunk as the Bears regained the lead, 33-30. Cooney had 15 points in the first half on 5-of-5 shooting. Chicago ended the half on an 11-3 run, including a three in the corner by Sam Gage at the buzzer.
Chicago hit 8-of-16 from beyond the arc in the first half, including three banked three-pointers. Johnson had 15 points on 4-of-4 shooting from three-point range to lead the Maroons. Washington U. shot 46.4 percent (13-28) in the first half and had just three turnovers.
The Bears came out firing with back-to-back three-pointers from Richter and freshman Brayden Teuscher to regain the lead at 42-41. Chicago took a 44-42 lead following a three-point play by Steve Stefanou, but an 8-0 run by the Bears put Washington U. up 50-44.
Trailing 55-54 with less than 11 minutes to play, a lay-up by Klimek and then a hustle play by Richter led to a three-pointer by Hoener from the top of the key to put the Bears up for good at 59-55. Hoener drilled a pair of free-throws and then assisted on a fast-break lay-up to sophomore Robert Burnett that made it 66-58.
Stefanou led all scorers with 22 points and 10 rebounds, recording his first double-double of the season and sixth of his career. Johnson finished with 18 points, scoring in double figures for the 10th time this season and 33rd of his career. Washington U. turned 15 Chicago turnovers into a 24-8 advantage in points off turnovers.
Washington University (9-3, 1-0 UAA) continues UAA play with a pair of road games next week on the East Coast. The Bears take on Case Western Reserve University on Friday, Jan. 13 in Cleveland, Ohio, followed by a road contest at Carnegie Mellon University on Sunday, Jan. 15, in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Bear Notebook: Washington University leads the all-time series with Chicago, 43-17 … The Bears are 18-7 all-time in UAA openers … Washington U. was outrebounded for just the third time this season … Richter has reached double figures in scoring in 10 of 12 games played this season, and 39 in his career … The Bears are 6-0 at home this season … The score was tied four times and there were 14 lead changes.