Chicago, Ill., Jan. 10, 2015 – The No. 1-ranked Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team shot a season-low 30.3 percent and was 2-of-19 from three-point range as the Bears suffered a 63-43 loss at the University of Chicago in the conference opener for both teams Saturday in Chicago.
Chicago improves to 9-3, 1-0 in the University Athletic Association (UAA), while Washington U., who had not played in 20 days, suffered its first loss of the season and fell to 11-1, 0-1 in the UAA. The defeat for the Bears also snapped their 16-game road-winning streak.
Cold shooting was the story for Washington U. as the Bears connected on just 23.5 percent (8-of-34) from the field in the first half, including 0-for-10 from three-point range. A break-away dunk by sophomore Blaine Crawford gave the Maroons a 17-10 lead and forced a timeout by WUSTL head coach Mark Edwards.
The Bears missed five straight shots from the field and Chicago extended its lead to 22-10 after a bucket by sophomore Waller Perez with 8:42 to play.
Chicago took a 33-17 lead to the half, as the Bears were limited to two buckets in the final 12 minutes. Senior forward Nick Burt was the lone bright spot in the first half with seven points, while Chicago's Alex Voss had 10 points.
The Bears got into an offensive flow behind the play of junior forward Mitch Styczynski, who scored six straight points to trim the advantage to 40-27 early in the second half. Voss drained his fourth three-pointer of the game to make it 50-31 with 9:55 left and force another timeout by Edwards.
Styczynski scored 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field, while Burt added nine points and 10 boards. The Bears were outrebounded 51-42, and were 1-of-6 from the free-throw line.
Voss led all scorers with 16 points on 4-of-5 shooting from three-point range, while Tyler Howard added 11 points and nine assists. Collin Barthel chipped in with five points and 15 rebounds off the bench for the Maroons. Chicago hit 8-of-19 from three-point range and had 16 offensive rebounds in the win.
Washington U. returns home to host No. 6 Emory University Friday, Jan. 16, at 8 p.m., and the University of Rochester Sunday, Jan. 18, at Noon.
Bear Notebook: Chicago was picked first in the UAA Preseason Coaches Poll, while Washington U. was picked third … The Bears are 19-9 all-time in UAA openers … This marked the 14th straight season that Washington U. has opened UAA play against Chicago.