Pittsburgh, Pa., January 25, 2013 – Senior Robert Burnett led six Bears in double figures with 17 points as the No. 24 ranked Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team posted an 84-76 win at Carnegie Mellon University in University Athletic Association (UAA) play Friday in Pittsburgh.
Junior Alan Aboona (15), senior Ben Hoener (15), junior Chris Klimek (14), juniorTim Cooney (11) and sophomore Matt Palucki (10) also scored in double figures for the Bears. This marks the first time this season all five starters scored in double figures.
Washington U. shot 48.3 percent (29-60) from the field, and hit 19-of-25 from the foul line. The Bears entered play on Friday shooting just 51.3 percent from the free-throw line in conference games. Washington U. outrebounded Carnegie 38-24, and had a 14-0 advantage in second-chance points.
The victory for Washington U. head coach Mark Edwards was career win number 575, compiling a 575-262 (.687) mark in 32 seasons at his alma mater. The victory also extended the school-record consecutive winning seasons streak to 29.
Carnegie Mellon hit its first eight shots from the field – including all four from three-point range - to build a 20-11 lead five minutes into the contest. Rashaun Riley, who came into the contest averaging 6.7 points per game, scored the first nine points for CMU on three triples.
A put-back by Burnett capped a 10-0 run as the Bears tied the contest at 24-24 with 9:15 left in first half. Despite the game being tied, CMU began the contest 9-of-11 from the field and had five turnovers.
Carnegie Mellon (3-14, 0-6 UAA) regained a six-point advantage at 36-30 on back-to-back threes by Riley and Andre Moore to force a 30-second timeout by Edwards. The Bears answered with an 11-0 run out of the timeout to take its largest lead of the half at 41-36 with three minutes left.
Washington U. took a 46-43 lead to the locker room after shooting 50 percent (18-36) from the field in the first half. Klimek had 14 points while Burnett added 10. Carnegie shot a blistering 59.7 percent (16-27) in the opening half, and hit 7-of-13 threes. Riley had 18 points to lead all scorers at half, while Moore added 14.
The Tartans continued to light up the nets from three-point range in the second half, and a triple by Moore gave CMU the lead back at 50-49 with 17:37 remaining. The lead changed hands six times in the next four minutes, but Asad Meghani had the hot hand for the Tartans as his three-pointer got the lead back for CMU with 13:18 to play. Meghani had 10 of the first 19 points for CMU to open the second half.
The game was tied at 64-64 with 10 minutes remaining when Cooney connected on a three-pointer from the wing to highlight a 7-0 run to give the Bears the lead for good. Burnett followed with a pair of free-throws and a lay-up to give the Washington U. the 71-64 lead with 7:04 to play.
Riley finished with 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting, just one point shy of a career-high. Moore (17), Meghani (17) and Rob Mohen (12) also scored in double figures for Carnegie, which dropped its fifth-straight game and fell to 2-9 at home.
Washington University (13-4, 3-3 UAA) completes the first half of UAA play Sunday, Jan. 27, at Case Western Reserve University. Game time is set for 11 a.m. (ET) in Cleveland, Ohio.
Bear Notebook: Washington U. leads the all-time series with Carnegie Mellon, 42-8, and the Bears have won 10 of the last 11 meetings … Carnegie Mellon was picked eighth in the UAA Preseason Coaches Poll … Washington U. has outrebounded 14 of 17 opponents … The Bears are 9-1 this season when leading at the half, and have won 95 of its last 102 games when leading at the half.