Pittsburgh, Pa., Jan. 19, 2020 – Sophomore Kameron Mack scored 13 of his career-high 15 points in the second half and hit a go ahead three-pointer with 58 seconds left to lift the No. 13-ranked Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team to an 80-72 victory at Carnegie Mellon University Sunday in Pittsburgh.
WashU improved to 12-2 and 3-0 in the University Athletic Association (UAA), while Carnegie Mellon dropped to 8-6 and 1-2 in the league. The Bears have won 18 of their last 19 games on Sunday.
Junior Payden Webb finished with a game-high 20 points, while Mack added 15. Junior Jack Nolan (14 points), sophomore Charlie Jacob (11 points) and senior DeVaughn Rucker (10 points, 10 rebounds) also scored in double figures.
WashU shot 43.5 percent (27-62) from the field, including 9-of-23 from three-point range. The Bears also hit 17-of-20 from the foul line and outrebounded CMU 39-32. Senior Jonathan Arenas was all over the court for WashU with a season-high seven points, 13 rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Playing without three starters in sophomore Justin Hardy and seniors Hank Hunter and Matt Nester, WashU struggled offensively early in the contest but held a 14-12 lead on a one-handed dunk by Rucker. WashU took a 22-16 lead with a 6-0 run.
Tied at 26-26 with 3:27 left, Webb came off the bench to hit a pair of a pair of threes to give WashU the 33-29 advantage at half.
Webb led the Bears with eight points as WashU shot 40 percent (12-30) from the field. The Bears limited CMU to 0-for-6 shooting from three-point range.
CMU opened the second half on a 6-0 run, and took its first lead of the game (35-33) on a lay-up by Daniel Weiss with 18:28 to play. The Tartans put together a 7-0 run to make it 49-43 with 12:37 left and force another WashU timeout.
Nolan got the hot hand with his second triple of the half to cut the lead the CMU lead to one, and then a three-point play by Webb gave WashU the 57-55 advantage. Webb's four–point play with less than five minutes left cut the CMU lead to 69-68.
Zach Howarth led CMU with 14 points, while Ethan Miller (13), Trent Suddeth (12) and Weiss (11) also scored in double figures. The Tartans hit just 4-of-15 from three-point range.
WashU opens a four-game homestand with games against Brandeis on Friday, Jan. 24 at 8 p.m. and New York on Sunday, Jan. 26, at Noon.
BEAR NOTEBOOK: WashU leads the all-time series with Carnegie Mellon 55-9, and the Bears have won nine-straight meetings… The Bears have outrebounded 13 of 14 opponents this season … Carnegie Mellon is 7-2 at home this season … Nolan is 38 points shy of 1,000 for his career … The double-double for Rucker was his second this season and third of his career.