St. Louis, Mo., January 20, 2012 – The Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team shot a season-high 56.4 percent and dished out 25 assists in an 80-54 win over Brandeis University on Friday night at the WU Field House in St. Louis.
Senior Dylan Richter scored 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, and hit 3-of-4 from three-point range in the win. Richter has scored in double figures in 12 of 15 games this season and eclipsed 900 points for his career, and is 92 shy of 1,000 for his career. Sophomore Alan Aboona added a career-high 16 points and five assists and hit 6-of-6 from the foul line.
Trailing 10-8 early in the first half, an 8-0 run by the Bears gave Washington U. the lead for good after making three-straight shots and a pair of free-throws by sophomore Chris Klimek. The Bears extended the lead to 26-18 following back-to-back three-pointers from Richter.
A pair of jumpers by freshman Matt Palucki pushed the advantage to double figures at 30-20. The Bears connected on 12 of their first 15 shots from the field, and finished the half shooting 60.9 percent (14-23) from the field. Washington U. took its largest lead of the half at 38-24 following a pair of free-throws from senior Jake Seymour.
Richter had 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting in the first half as Washington University took a 41-31 lead to the locker room. Aboona added eight points and freshman Brayden Teuscher had seven points and three assists off the bench. The Bears hit 10-of-10 from the foul line in the opening half.
The Bears connected on its first four shots from three-point range in the second half to jump ahead 61-40 with 12:36 remaining. Washington University took its largest lead of the game at 73-43 (30) following a lay-up from Palucki with 6:24 to play.
Washington U. shot 53.3 percent (8-15) from three-point range and 76.9 percent (10-13) from the foul line in the win. Teusher added nine points and a career-high seven assists, while Klimek and senior Alex Toth added eight points each.
Brandeis (8-7, 2-2), which entered the game leading NCAA Division III in three-point field goal percentage (.448), was just 4-for-20 from three-point range and had just seven assists. Ben Bartoldus had 15 points in the loss for Brandeis.
Washington University continues its four-game homestand against No. 23 ranked New York University on Sunday, Jan. 22. Tip-off is set for Noon. New York improved its overall record to 13-1 and 4-1 in the conference with an 81-71 win at the University of Chicago on Friday.
Bear Notebook: Washington U. leads the all-time series with Brandeis 38-9 and the Bears have won six of the last seven meetings … Washington U. has outrebounded 11 of 15 opponents … The Bears are 7-0 at home this season … Washington U. has won 78 of its last 84 games when leading at the half.