Cleveland, Ohio, January 27, 2013 – Senior Ben Hoener scored 13 points off the bench and made two big shots late in the game to lead the No. 24 ranked Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team to a 74-69 road win at Case Western Reserve University in University Athletic Association (UAA) play Sunday in Cleveland.
Washington U. (14-4, 4-3 UAA) begins the second of UAA play at home against Carnegie Mellon Friday, Feb. 1, at 8 p.m., and Case Western Reserve Sunday, Feb. 3, at Noon. The Bears remain in sole possession of fourth place in the UAA standings with five of seven home games remaining.
Hoener gave the Bears the 72-69 lead on a runner with 1:23 to play, and then the Bears got a stop on the defensive end. Sophomore Matt Palucki missed a 15-foot jumper with the shot clock running down on the ensuing possession before a timeout by Case with 28.8 seconds left. The Spartans missed their first three with a chance to tie, but got the offensive rebound.
After a timeout by Case with 13.7 seconds remaining, Austin Fowler's three-point attempt was well off the mark and corralled by Palucki. He was fouled with 7.3 seconds left, just the Spartans fifth of the game. Dane McLoughlin stole the inbounds pass with 3.2 seconds left to give Case one last chance but after a timeout the ball was turned back over to Washington U.
Junior Chris Klimek led the Bears with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while Hoener and senior Robert Burnett also added 13 points. Burnett also chipped in with eight boards (five offensive), two assists and two blocks. Palucki chipped in with 11 points, six rebounds and three steals, while junior Tim Cooney had a nice all-around game with eight points, a career-high six assists and five boards.
A 10-0 run by the Bears gave Washington U. a lead of nine (22-13) with 11:42 remaining in the first half. The Bears dominated play in the paint scoring 16 of their first 22 points down low. The Bears took their largest lead of the half at 28-15 following a put-back by Burnett.
Klimek, who had eight points on 4-of-4 shooting from the field in the first half, went to the bench with his second foul with 9:34 to play. Case Western Reserve took advantage without Klimek on the floor as a 17-4 run tied the game at 32-32 following a deep three-pointer by McLoughlin. He finished the first half with 13 points on 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.
The score was tied at 34-34 at halftime, as Washington U. shot 53.8 percent (14-26) from the field. Case stayed in the contest by hitting 6-of-10 three-pointer in the first half, while WUSTL was 0-for-4. Burnett led the Bears with nine points as Washington U. had a 20-8 advantage in points in the paint. There were five ties and five lead changes in the opening half.
Case started the second half 5-of-6 from the field to take a 44-40 lead before a 30-second timeout by Washington U. head coach Mark Edwards. Out of the timeout, the Bears responded with a 9-0 run to give the Bears a 49-44 lead. Palucki canned a three from the wing to cap the run, the first three-pointer of the game for the Bears.
With the game tied at 54-54, the Bears scored eight of the next 10 points to built the lead to six (62-56). The Spartans would get the lead down to three on back-to-back possessions, but it was the offensive rebounding of Washington U. that was the difference. Hoener had a three to get the lead to six and then junior Alan Aboona nailed a three-pointer off an offensive rebound from Burnett that gave the Bears a 68-62 lead.
Washington U. outrebounded Case 38-24, including 14 offensive boards, which led to 19 second-chance points. The Bears shot 52.6 percent (30-57) from the field and hit 10-of-12 from the foul line.
McLoughlin led all scorers with 18 points, while Tim Chung (14) and Brian Klements (12) also scored in double figures. Case enters the second half of UAA play with a 9-9 overall record, 2-5 in conference action.
Bear Notebook: Washington U. leads the all-time series with Case Western Reserve, 37-4, and the Bears have won the last 16 meetings … The Bears wore white jerseys on Sunday as Case wore brown uniforms in honor of the CIT Rough Riders as part of Throwback Weekend … Case was picked seventh in the UAA Preseason Coaches Poll … Washington U. has outrebounded 15 of 18 opponents … The Bears snapped their two-game losing streak on Sundays … Klimek has scored in double figures in six -straight games and in 15 of 18 games this season … Hoener is now two points shy of 500 for his career.