St. Louis, Mo., Nov. 21, 2015 – Sophomore forward Andrew Sanders earned the Robert L. Burnes Most Valuable Player Award of the 32ndAnnual Lopata Classic after recording his first double-double of his career to lead the Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team to a 78-62 win over Johns Hopkins University Saturday at the WU Field House in St. Louis.
Sanders poured in a career-best 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting, and also added a career-best 17 rebounds. Sanders, who was joined on the all-tournament team by senior guard Luke Silverman-Lloyd, averaged 13.5 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. Silverman-Lloyd had 14 points on 4-of-5 three-point shooting Saturday and averaged 10.0 points per contest in the two games.
Junior forward Clinton Hooks added a career-high 16 points and six assists, while sophomore center David Schmelter had a career-best 13 points and eight rebounds. WashU shot 42.6 percent (26-of-61) from the field and turned 19 offensive rebounds into a 14-4 advantage in second-chance points.
WashU improved to 3-0 with the win, while Johns Hopkins fell to 1-2. The Bears have won 34-straight games in the Lopata Classic dating back to 1999.
WashU jumped out to a commanding 14-1 lead in the opening six minutes of play behind some stellar defense and four three-pointers. The Bears limited Johns Hopkins to 0-for-5 shooting from the field, and forced three turnovers during the run. The Blue Jays recorded their first field goal with 13:49 left in the first half.
Johns Hopkins got back into the contest with a 12-2 run to trim the lead to three, but Sanders converted a three-point play to push the lead to 21-15.
WashU led by 12 (36-24) with 2:02 left in the half after a pair of free-throws by Hooks, but Johns Hopkins ended the half on an 8-1 run to trim the halftime advantage to 37-32. Sanders had a double-double with 11 points and 10 points in the first half, as the Bears had a 10-0 advantage in second-chance points.
WashU got the lead up to double figures at 55-42 behind the play from Sanders, but it was Silverman-Lloyd who sealed the victory with a pair of three pointers to push the advantage to 65-49 with 8:34 to play.
Austin Vasiliadis led Johns Hopkins with 12 points, while Kyle Doran added 10. Vasiliadis and Ryan Curran were named to the All-Tournament Team. Curran had 25 points Friday in an 82-74 win over DePauw University Friday, but missed Saturday's game with an injury. David Rosenbaum of Pomona-Pitzer Colleges and David Vogel of DePauw were also named to the all-tournament team.
WashU plays a pair of road games next week at Spalding University on Friday, Nov. 27, at 7 p.m. (ET) and at Hanover College Sunday, Nov. 29, at 3 p.m. (ET).
BEAR NOTEBOOK: WashU leads the all-time series with Johns Hopkins, 11-7, and the two teams met for the first time since the 2000-01 season … Head coach Mark Edwards on his 630th career game, 13th most in NCAA Division III history … The Bears off to a 3-0 start for the fourth-straight season.