St. Louis, Mo., Nov. 20, 2018 – Freshman forward Justin Hardy scored a career-high 28 points but it was not enough as the Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team suffered a 92-85 loss to No. 19 Illinois Wesleyan University Tuesday at the WU Field House in St. Louis.

Illinois Wesleyan remained undefeated at 4-0, while WashU dropped to 1-2.

Hardy was 10-of-16 from the field and 7-of-7 from the free-throw line. He also added a career-best eight boards in 34 minutes played. Sophomore guard Jack Nolan added 17 points and a career-best six assists and four steals, while junior guard Matt Nester had 13 points.

WashU shot 45.9 (28-61) percent from the field, and hit 21-of-23 from the free-throw line.

Illinois Wesleyan hit three of their first four shots and led 8-1 early in the contest. WashU answered with a 9-0 run to take the 10-8 lead that was highlighted by a baseline dunk by Hardy. That would be as close as WashU would get the rest of the way. 

The Titans shot 70.0 percent (21-30) from the field in the first half, including 9-of-15 from three-point range, and took a commanding 52-35 lead at the break. Brady Rose had 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting to lead IWU, while Hardy had 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting. IWU had 17 assists on 21 buckets in the opening half.

WashU opened the second half on a 9-4 run, to cut the lead to 56-44 and force an Illinois Wesleyan timeout. Nester highlighted a 9-0 run with a three-pointer to trim the advantage to nine (66-57), and then another three by Nester made it 72-64 with 8:56 to play. The Bears shot 51.5 percent (17-33) in the second half.

Rose finished with a game-high 33 points on 12-of-19 shooting, including 5-of-10 from three-point range. Colin Bonnet added 12 points and five assists, while Doug Wallen chipped in with 10 points and five assists.

IWU shot 59.6 percent (34-57) from the field, and hit 13-of-26 from three-point range. The Titans had 24 assists on 34 field goals.

WashU plays a pair of games on Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 24-25, at the Nicholas Investments Thanksgiving Classic in Waukesha, Wis. The Bears take on Carroll (Wis.) Saturday at 7 p.m., followed by a matchup with Carthage Sunday at 2 p.m.

BEAR NOTEBOOK
• The teams met for the 40th time in school history, with IWU leading the series 23-17
• IWU's bench outscored WashU 30-16
• The Bears have outrebounded all three opponents this season