New York, N.Y., February 19, 2012 – The No. 24-ranked Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team scored the last 11 points of the game and clinched the 2012 University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship with a 74-68 victory at New York University on Sunday afternoon in Manhattan.

Washington U. became the first team to secure an NCAA Division III tournament bid this season by winning its 11th UAA title in school history. The Bears will make their 19th overall NCAA tournament appearance and 16th in Division III.

Washington U. took a 46-40 lead into the halftime locker room after shooting 69 percent in the first half. Both teams got off to a slow start in the second period offensively. The Bears extended their lead to 11 points (55-44) after a pair of free throws by junior Ben Hoener. A steal and dunk by senior Dylan Richter and two free throws by freshmanBrayden Teuscher gave Washington U. a 62-56 lead with 7:12 remaining. 

New York put together a 12-1 run, including three-straight three-pointers by Kyle Stockmal to take a 68-63 lead with 2:04 left in the game. A layup by Richter and five-straight points by junior Robert Burnett put Washington U. back in the lead, 70-68, with 49.3 seconds remaining. The Bears then got three defensive stops and made four free throws to seal the win.

Washington U. shot 50 percent (28-56) from the field in the game. New York shot 44 percent (22-50) from the field. The Violets finished with a 32-31 rebounding advantage.

The Violets got off to a hot start in the first half, jumping out to a 16-7 lead with 16:02 on the clock behind 4-of-5 shooting from three-point range. Washington U. answered with a 13-0 run, including six points by sophomore Chris Klimek, to take a 20-16 lead on a three-pointer by Teuscher with 11:44 left in the half. The Bears extended the lead to 11 points (36-25) on a steal and layup by Hoener, forcing the Violets to call a timeout with 7:01 remaining. New York trimmed the Washington U. lead to three (43-40 with a pair of free throws with 53 seconds left, but a three-pointer by Richter gave the Bears a 46-40 lead at halftime.

Washington U. shot 69 percent (20-29) from the field in the first half, including 6-of-11 (55 percent) from three-point range. New York shot 50 percent (14-28) from the field, and 5-of-13 (38 percent) from three-point range in the first half. The Violets were a perfect 7-of-7 from the free-throw line, and finished with a 14-10 rebounding advantage in the half.

Richter led Washington U. with 17 points and four assists, moving him into 19th on the all-time scoring list with 1,066 points. His three-pointer with 19:02 left in the second half moved him into ninth on the all-time career list with 142 three-pointers. Klimek and Teuscher each finished with 12 points, while Burnett added 11 points off the bench. Klimek also had a team-high eight rebounds and four assists. NYU's Kyle Stockmal led all scorers with 23 points.

Washington University (18-6, 10-3 UAA) concludes its regular-season schedule by traveling to University of Chicago on Saturday, Feb. 25. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. in Chicago.

Bear Notebook: The win was No. 560 for head coach Mark Edwards in his 31-year career at Washington U. … The Bears lead the all-time series with New York 38-12, and have won 12 of the last 13 meetings in New York.