Chicago, Ill., November 17, 2012 — The No. 21 ranked Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team opened the 2012-13 season with a 69-51 victory over Trinity University (Texas) on the first day of the University Athletic Association (UAA)/Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Challenge Saturday afternoon at the University of Chicago.

Washington University broke open a four-point halftime lead (30-26) with a 13-2 run to start the second half, building a commanding 43-28 lead with 15:32 to play.

Junior guard Alan Aboona led all scorers with a career-high 16 points, while junior forward Chris Klimek chipped in with 13 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore Matt Palucki also added six points and nine boards. Washington U. won its seventh-straight season opener and improved to 19-13 all-time under head coach Mark Edwards.

Washington U. shot 46.6 percent (27-58) for the game, including a sizzling 57.7 percent (15-26) in the second half. The Bears struggled from the foul line connecting on 8-of-18, but outrebounded Trinity 41-31.

Washington University hit just four of its first 16 shots from the field, and trailed 13-8 with 8:28 to play in the first half. Senior guard Ben Hoenergave the Bears a much-needed spark off the bench, knocking down a pair of three-pointers to trim the Trinity lead to one at 15-14.

Trinity (0-1) continued to hold on to a four-point lead before Washington U. ended the half on a 13-5 run in the final 3:57 to take a 30-26 lead at half. Aboona had six points during the decisive run, including a three-point play on a back-door lay-up with 1:15 to play. Washington U. shot 37.5 percent (12-32) in the opening half from the field, and connected on 3-for-10 from the foul line.

Aboona continued to have the hot hand early in the second half as he scored five of the Bears' first nine points to help Washington U. build an 11-point advantage (39-28). With Trinity in a zone, Aboona drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key to force a timeout by Trinity. The Bears took their largest lead of the game (47-30) with 12:43 left after a lay-up by sophomore Nick Burt.

Trinity shot 34.5 percent (19-55) from the field and had two players score in double figures: Robert Kitzinger (13 points) and Craig Saltarelli (11 points).

Washington U. (1-0) wraps up play in the UAA/SCAC Challenge Sunday, Nov. 18, against Southwestern University (Texas). Game time is set for 2 p.m. in Chicago.

Bear Notebook: Trinity is ranked No. 22 in DIII News and receiving votes in the D3hoops.com Top-25 Polls … The Tigers were picked to defend the SCAC Conference Championship … Washington U. has won all three meetings between the two teams.