St. Louis, Mo., Feb. 12, 2016 – On a night where Washington University in St. Louis honored legendary coaches Mark Edwards and Nancy Fahey, the men's basketball team eclipsed the century mark for first time since the 2013-14 season in a 107-98 victory over Case Western Reserve University Friday at the WU Field House in St. Louis.
Prior to the game, WashU held a ceremony officially naming the playing court Edwards-Fahey Court.
WashU snapped its six-game losing streak to improve to 11-10, 3-7 in the University Athletic Association (UAA), while Case Western Reserve fell to 10-11, 3-7 in the UAA. WashU and Case are tied for fifth in the UAA standings with four conference games left.
WashU hosts Carnegie Mellon University (9-12, 2-8 UAA) in the final regular season home game Sunday, Feb. 14, at Noon. Prior to the contest, WashU will honor Luke Silverman-Lloydas the lone senior of the Class of 2016.
Sophomore center David Schmelter notched his sixth career double-double with a career-high 24 points and 13 rebounds, while sophomore guard Kevin Kucera added a career-best 23 points and seven assists. Sophomore forward Andrew Sanders added his eighth career double-double with 17 points and 16 rebounds, while Silverman-Lloyd had 12 points.
WashU shot a season-high 53.8 percent (35-of-65) from the field and hit 27-of-38 free throws. The Bears added a season-high 25 assists and hit 10-of-18 three-pointers.
The Bears hit 4-of-5 from the field to open the contest and led 11-2 after eight-straight points from Sanders. A lay-up by sophomore forward Matt Highsmith made it 18-8, but Case answered with a 5-0 run.
WashU got the lead back to double figures at 35-24 with 5:56 left after a lay-up by freshman center Marcus Meyer, but Case closed the half on a 23-10 run to take a 47-45 halftime lead.
WashU shot 52.9 percent (18-of-34) from the field, but turned the ball over 11 times. Sanders had 10 points and seven boards, while Case Western Reserve's David Black lead all scorers with 17 points. The Spartans hit 7-of-14 threes in the first half.
Case opened the second half on a 15-7 run to gain its largest lead of the game at 62-52 with 15:59 to play. WashU answered right back with a 12-4 run to cut the lead to two (66-64), but Black canned a three.
Kucera beat the shot clock with a runner to get the lead down to one with 6:18 left, and then back-to-back threes from Silverman-Lloyd and Kucera made it 86-84.
Leading by one (87-86), sophomore guard Jake Knupp ignited a 9-2 run as WashU gained the 95-89 advantage. Schmelter finished off the run with a monstrous dunk on an assist from Kucera.
Kucera hit 6-of-6 from the foul line in the final 24 seconds to seal the win for WashU.
Matt Clark led all scorers with 26 points on 9-of-16 shooting, while Black (20) and Colin Zucker (14) also scored in double figures. Case hit 15 threes in the loss, two shy of the conference single-game record.
BEAR NOTEBOOK: WashU leads the all-time series with Case 43-5, and the Bears have won 20 of the last 21 games in St. Louis … The 107 points scored are the most since Feb. 10, 2006 - 111-74 win over Case at home … Silverman-Lloyd has connected on a three in all 21 games this year … The Bears are 2-5 when trailing at half … The 1,904 attendance was a season high … WashU is 7-0 when shooting 50 percent or better … 2008 National Player of the Year Troy Ruths and the 2008 NCAA Division III National Championship team was honored at halftime of the women's game for their induction in the WashU Sports Hall of Fame.