Strong Defensive Effort Leads WashU Past Case

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St. Louis, Mo., Jan. 27, 2019 – The Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team limited Case Western Reserve University to a season-low 30.6 percent shooting in an 88-55 win Sunday in University Athletic Association (UAA) play at the WU Field House in St. Louis.

WashU won its fifth-straight game to improve to 12-6 and 5-2 in the University Athletic Association (UAA), while Case Western Reserve fell to 9-9 and 2-5 in the UAA. The Bears have won 13-straight games on Sunday dating back to last season. 

Freshman forward Justin Hardy had 18 points and was 8-of-8 from the free-throw line, while junior guard Matt Nester had 16 points on 4-of-5 three-point shooting. Junior forward DeVaughn Rucker added 11 points and six rebounds, sophomore guard Jack Nolan had nine points and a career-high nine rebounds, and junior guard Jonathan Arenas filled up the stat sheet with nine points, six rebounds and four assists off the bench.

WashU shot a season-high 56.1 percent (32-57) from the field, including 9-of-22 from three-point range, and hit 15-of-17 from the free-throw line. The Bears outrebounded Case 47-25 and had a 13-2 advantage in fast-break points.

The Bears jumped out to a commanding 14-3 lead as the Bears limited Case to 1-of-10 shooting from the field to open the contest. Hardy's dunk pushed the lead to 31-19 with 6:02 remaining and forced a Case timeout.

Nester canned a three-pointer and then Nolan drilled a corner three to highlight a 14-0 run. The Bears took a 45-25 lead to half.

Hardy and Nester led the Bears with 10 points each, as WashU shot 55.6 percent (15-27) from the field. The Bears outrebounded Case 26-12 and WashU had an 8-0 advantage in points off turnovers.

WashU opened the second half on a 13-5 run to jump in front 58-30. Hardy has his second dunk of the game and Rucker added a wing three.

Michael Hollis led Case with nine points as Case hit just 9-of-31 threes.

WashU opens a four-game road trip at Carnegie Mellon University (8-10, 3-4 UAA) on Friday, Feb. 1, at 8 p.m. in Pittsburgh. The Bears defeated Carnegie Mellon 68-56 on Jan. 25. 

BEAR NOTEBOOK: WashU leads the all-time series with Case Western Reserve 48-5, and the Bears have won the last eight meetings … The Bears have allowed 58.6 points per game during the season-long five-game win streak.