St. Louis, Mo., Jan. 29, 2016 – The Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team had six players score in double figures but it was not enough as the Bears suffered a 75-73 loss to the University of Rochester Friday night at the WU Field House in St. Louis.
Rochester improves to 11-6, 4-2 in the University Athletic Association (UAA), while WashU fell to 10-7, 2-4 in the UAA. The Bears have lost their last five home games by a combined 12 points.
Sophomore forward Andrew Sanders recorded his seventh double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while junior forward Clinton Hooks (13 points, nine rebounds), senior guard Luke Silverman-Lloyd (12), sophomore forward Matt Highsmith (10), sophomore guard Jake Knupp (10) and sophomore guard Kevin Kucera (10) also scored in double figures for the Bears.
WashU shot a season-low 34.5 percent (20-of-58) from the field, including 26.7 percent (8-of-32) in the second half. The Bears hit 25-of-34 from the free-throw line, and converted just five second-chance points on 14 offensive rebounds.
Silverman-Lloyd had the hot hand early in the contest as he canned back-to-back three's to give WashU a 15-4 lead with 16:37 left. He had eight of the first 15 points for the Bears.
WashU took its largest lead of the game with 16:14 left in the first half after a three-pointer by Kucera. The Bears were 4-of-5 from three-point range to open the game.
Trailing by 13, Rochester rallied back with a 10-0 run to cut the lead to 20-17 and force a WashU timeout. The Yellowjackets tied the contest at 31-31 with 3:49 to play on a lay-up by Sam Borst-Smith, and then took their first lead following a three-pointer by Mack Montague.
Montague, who was celebrating his 22nd birthday, canned another three to extend the lead to 37-34. He had 11 points in the first half.
WashU shot 42.9 percent (12-of-28) from the field in the opening half, and hit 6-of-11 from three-point range. Hooks had 11 points, while Silverman-Lloyd added 10. Rochester shot 51.7 percent (15-of-29) in the first half, and hit five threes.
The Bears hit just four of their first 12 shots from the field in the second half but still managed to keep the game tied at 49-49. Knupp, who was held to two points in the first half, scored seven-straight to get the lead back at 58-57 with 8:48 to play.
The game remained tied at 65-65 with 4:12 left after both of Rochester starting post players in Dylan Peretz and Jared Selzter fouled out.
Zack Ayers became the third Rochester player to foul out with 59 seconds left, which resulted in a pair of free-throws by Highsmith to put WashU up 70-68. A three-point play by Borst-Smith put Rochester up one (71-70) with 48 seconds left. The Bears would turn the ball over on the ensuing possession and Silverman-Lloyd missing a game-tying three with three seconds left.
Borst-Smith led Rochester with 17 points, while Montague (16), Seltzer (14 points, nine rebounds), Michael Mangan (12) and Tucker Knox (10) also scored in double figures. The Yellowjackets shot 45.6 percent (26-of-57) from the field, and hit 10 three-pointers. Rochester turned nine offensive boards into 16 second-chance points.
WashU closes out a four-game home stand against Emory University Sunday, Jan. 31, at Noon. WashU's coaching staff will be wearing sneakers Sunday as part of Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers.
BEAR NOTEBOOK: WashU had its four-game win streak against Rochester in St. Louis snapped and leads the all-time series 36-23 … Rochester entered the game leading the UAA in opponents' field-goal percentage at 38.9 percent … Silverman-Lloyd has connected on a three-pointer in all 17 games this season … There were nine lead changes and 15 ties in the game, and zero fast-break points.