St. Louis, Mo., February 10, 2012 – The Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team regained sole possession of first place in the University Athletic Association (UAA) standings with a 78-60 win over Case Western Reserve University on Friday night at the WU Field House in St. Louis.
Sophomore Chris Klimek scored a team-high 17 points and had six rebounds, while senior Dylan Richter had 15 points and tied a career-high with six steals. Senior Alex Toth had 12 points, sophomore Tim Cooney chipped in with 11 points, and sophomore Alan Aboona filled up the stat sheet with 11 points, a career-high 10 rebounds and six assists. All five starters scored in double figures for the first time all season.
Klimek was the lone bright spot for the Bears early in the first half, scoring seven of the first 10 points for Washington U. A jumper by Klimek gave WUSTL a 10-8 lead before a timeout by Case. A put-back by Cooney tied the score at 18-18, but three-pointers by Robert Scott and Austin Fowler gave Case a 24-20 lead with 2:38 to play.
Case (9-12, 1-9 UAA) led 26-21 with under two minutes play, but a pair of free-throws by Aboona and then a three-pointer by Aboona at the buzzer made it 27-26 at the half. Klimek had 11 points for the Bears in the first half, as Washington U. shot just 30 percent (9-30) from the field, and hit 1-of-8 from three-point range.
Aboona's three-pointer to end the first half ignited an 18-0 run by the Bears to put them up 41-27 just three minutes into the second half. Washington U. connected on its first five shots of the second half, including a three-pointer by Richter, which forced a timeout by Case.
The Spartans got right back into it with an 8-0 run to cut the lead to six (41-35), but lay-ups by Klimek and freshman Brayden Teuscher pushed the advantage to 45-35. Cooney's three-pointer made it 57-42 with 11:24 to play, as Washington U. hit 11-of-12 from the field to start the half. The Bears shot 64.3 percent (18-28) in the second half.
Washington U. shot 46.6 percent (27-58) in the win, and hit 19-of-24 from the free-throw line. Austin Fowler led Case with 21 points and 10 rebounds, while Tom Summers added 14 points and nine boards. The Spartans turned the ball over 18 times and were called for three technical fouls in the loss.
Washington University (16-5, 8-2 UAA) hosts Carnegie Mellon University in its final home game of the season at home on Sunday, Feb. 12. Tip-off is set for Noon at the WU Field House. Prior to the game, Washington U. will honor its three senior members: Dylan Richter, Jake Seymour and Alex Toth.
Bear Notebook: Washington U. leads the all-time series with Case, 36-4, and has won 15-straight meetings … Head coach Mark Edwards was inducted into the WUSTL Sports Hall of Fame on Friday morning … Washington U. has outrebounded 17 of its 21 opponents this season … Richter moved past Rick Robinson (1986-90) into 10th on the all-time three-pointers list with 137 … Washington U. is 77-10 (.885) at the home since the 2005-06 season … The double-double was Aboona's first of his career.