St. Louis, Mo., Dec. 17, 2015 – Junior forward Clinton Hooks recorded his first career double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds to lead the No. 21-ranked Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team to a 74-69 win at Fontbonne University Thursday at Lee McKinney Court in St. Louis.
WashU improved to 7-2 with the win, while Fontbonne dropped to 3-7.
Sophomore forward Andrew Sanders added a career-high 21 points in the win, hitting 9-of-14 from the free-throw line, while sophomore forward Matt Highsmith had nine points and eight rebounds. WashU shot 44.8 percent (26-of-58) from the field and 67.9 percent (19-of-28) from the foul line in the win.
The Bears took a 19-9 lead midway through the first half after scoring 10-straight points which forced a timeout by Fontbonne.
WashU's defense was exceptional in the opening 15 minutes of play limiting Fontbonne to 23.5 percent shooting (4-of-17). With the Griffins struggling to score, Sanders scored six-straight points to give the Bears a 27-13 lead with 5:09 to play.
Fontbonne got back into the game with a 2-2-1 zone press, as WashU went 0-for-3 with a pair of turnovers in the final 2:21. The Griffins scored the final nine points of the half and trimmed WashU's halftime lead to 32-30.
Sanders had 10 points to lead WashU in the first half as the Bears shot 42.9 percent (12-28) from the field, but hit just 1-of-8 from three-point range. Kody Ettinger had 13 points to lead Fontbonne with leading scorer Ben Kissing on the bench with three fouls.
Ettinger continued to have the hot hand for the Griffins, and tied the contest at 40-40 with 14:45 left after a three-point play.
After hitting one of its first 11 shots from beyond the arc, WashU got back into its offensive flow with some key outside shooting. Hooks hit a runner and then canned a three-pointer, and after a defensive stop, sophomore Jake Knupp drilled a three-pointer from the wing to make it 50-41.
WashU got the lead back to double figures at 56-45 with 7:39 to play on a jumper by Highsmith. With Ettinger keeping Fontbonne in the game, Sanders scored six-straights points to make it 71-61with 2:05 to play.
Ettinger finished with a career-high 32 points to lead Fontbonne, connecting on 6-of-9 from beyond the arc.
WashU will compete in the 2015 Charles B. Zimmerman Memorial Classic Tuesday-Wednesday, Dec. 29-30, at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. The Bears take on Centre College in the opening game Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.
BEAR NOTEBOOK: WashU is 16-1 all-time against Fontbonne, and has won each of the last 14 meetings between the two teams … The Bears are 7-0 when leading at the half … Thursday marked the 10-year anniversary of Scott Stone's 14 three-pointers and 46 points vs. Fontbonne on Dec. 17, 2005 … Fontbonne had a 39-13 advantage in bench points.