Pittsburgh, Pa., Feb. 6, 2015 – The No. 12-ranked Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team was unable to overcome an eight-point halftime deficit as the Bears lost 72-59 at Carnegie Mellon University Friday night in University Athletic Association (UAA) play.
Both teams started slow offensively, combining to make two of their first 10 field-goals as Washington U. grabbed an early 4-0 lead. The Tartans went on a 7-0 run to gain a 7-4 lead, before a three-pointer by senior David Fatoki tied the game with 13:45 to play in the first half. A free throw by Fatoki gave the Bears an 8-7 lead, but Carnegie Mellon made a three-pointer after a pair of offensive rebounds to regain the lead with 13:05 left.
Carnegie Mellon extended the lead to 14-10 before Fatoki got a runner in the lane to fall with 10:52 remaining in the half. The Tartans used a 10-2 run to take their largest lead of the half (24-14) with 6:10 left. Back-to-back baskets by senior Nick Burt and junior Mitch Styczynskigot the Bears to within six at 26-20 with 2:48 left in the half, but Carnegie Mellon answered with four straight points to regain a 10-point advantage. Freshman Matt Highsmith made a fastbreak layup for the Bears with less than a minute to play in the half, making the halftime score 30-22 in favor of Carnegie Mellon.
The Tartans opened the second half with a 16-3 run, including three three-pointers by Jack Serbin and a three-point play by Seth Cordts, to extend the lead to 46-25 with 14:58 to play. The Bears chipped away at the lead over the next seven minutes and a three-pointer by junior Luke Silverman-Lloyd brought the Bears to within 10 (56-46) with 7:45 remaining. After a basket by the Tartans, Styczynski made a pair of free throws to again make it a 10-point game, but Carnegie Mellon sealed the upset with a 12-4 run to make it 70-52 with 2:17 to play. The Bears scored seven of the last nine points of the game to make the final score 72-59.
Washington U. shot 38.2 percent (21-55) from the field, including 5-of-16 (31.3 percent) from three-point range. Carnegie Mellon finished with 41.4 percent (24-58) field-goal shooting, including 26.1 percent (6-23) from beyond the arc. The Tartans were 18-of-19 at the foul line, while Washington U. finished 12-of-21 at the charity stripe.
Burt led the Bears with 12 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Fatoki added 10 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Styczynski finished with 10 points and six rebounds, while Silverman-Lloyd had nine points on three three-pointers.
Washington U. dropped to 15-4 overall and 4-4 in the UAA, while Carnegie Mellon improved to 11-8 overall and 2-6 in the conference. The Bears continue their four-game road trip Sunday, Feb. 1, at Case Western Reserve University. Tip-off is set for Noon in Cleveland.
Bear Notebook: Washington U. leads the all-time series with Carnegie Mellon 45-9 … It was the Tartans' second win in the last 15 games of the series … The Bears are 1-4 this season when trailing at halftime … Carnegie Mellon entered the game leading the UAA in field-goal percentage defense (.394) … Fatoki's seven assists brought his season total to 142, moving him into ninth on Washington U.'s single-season assist list … Senior Matt Palucki passed J.J. Siepierski (1993-97) for 18th in Washington U.'s all-time scoring list (1,135) … It was Palucki's 100th game played in his career.