St. Louis, Mo., November 20, 2012 — Senior center Robert Burnett recorded the second double-double of his career with a career-high 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead the No. 21 ranked Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team to an 85-62 win over local-rival Fontbonne University on Tuesday night at the WU Field House in St. Louis.
Junior point guard Alan Aboona added a career-best with 17 points and also dished out six assists in the win. Junior forwardChris Klimek chipped in with 13 first-half points and eight rebounds, while sophomore Matt Palucki had 10 points and eight rebounds. The Bears shot 45.7 percent (32-70) from the field and had a season-high 26 assists and just seven turnovers.
Washington U. jumped to a 19-8 lead just seven minutes into the contest as the Bears hit nine of their first 11 shots from the field. A three-point play by Klimek extended the lead to its largest of the half at 37-15 with 3:14 to play. Washington U. had an assist on its first 16 baskets of the game.
The Bears shot 40.5 percent (17-42) from the field in the first half and committed just two turnovers. Klimek led all scorers at the break with 13 points, while Palucki added eight.
Aboona drilled back-to-back three's in the second half as Washington U. held onto a 51-33 lead with 16:42 to play. Burnett scored on consecutive possessions to get the lead back to 20 (55-35). Burnett scored 10 of the first 16 points of the second half for Washington U. The Bears shot 53.6 percent (15-28) in the second half, hitting eight of their first 11 from the field.
Fontbonne (0-2) had three players score in double figures: Richard Dorhauer (17 points), Jared Greenlee (12 points) and Greg Gentry (10 points, eight assists).
Washington University (3-0) returns to action with a pair of games at the Snyder Classic held at Nebraska Wesleyan University on Friday-Saturday, Nov. 23-24, in Lincoln, Neb. The Bears take on Austin College on Friday at 5:30 p.m., followed by a matchup against Simpson College on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
Bear Notebook: Washington University leads the all-time series with Fontbonne, 13-1, and has won the last 10 meetings between the two teams … The victory for head coach Mark Edwards was the 565th of his career, seventh most on the NCAA Division III active wins list … Washington U. has won 88 of its last 94 games when leading at the half … Klimek went over 300 points in his career and has scored in double figures in 19 of 24 career games … The Bears had a 51-27 rebounding advantage, including 17 offensive boards.