Junior Jon Onyiriuka helped Rochester to a strong start, scoring the first four points in the post to give the Yellowjackets the early edge. Onyiriuka led UR with 10 points and four rebounds in the opening half, shooting 5-of-7 from the field.
The Bears bounced back behind a balanced attack, though. Junior Troy Ruths notched a couple baskets in the post, and freshman Aaron Thompson connected from beyond the arc to give WU a 10-8 lead. The Red and Green extended to a 19-13 lead at the 10:22 mark when sophomore Sean Wallis hit two foul shots. Wallis led the Bears with 10 points in the opening half.
Rochester responded with a 9-2 run to retake the lead at 22-21. The teams traded shots the rest of the half, and WU led 34-33 at halftime. Senior Nick Nikitas added nine points, while junior Jeff Juron dished out five assists for the Yellowjackets.
Onyiriuka continued his strong post play early in the second half, scoring the first eight Rochester points of the frame. He stole a pass on defense and dribbled length of the floor for a slashing lay-up to tie the game at 41-41 with 13:17 to play. After Washington U. whistled for time, junior Robert Dominiak gave UR a 44-41 lead with a three-pointer from the right wing.
Ruths countered, though, with a three-point play and another lay-up to put the Bears up 46-44 and force a Rochester timeout at the 11:16 mark. UR rallied again to take a three-point lead (54-51) when sophomore Mike Chmielowiec scored on the break, but Ruths answered again with seven straight points to give WU a 58-54 lead with 5:12 left. He hit four free throws and converted a three-point play during the run.
Nikitas then knocked down two free throws and drained a triple from the top of the key to extend WU's lead to 63-54 and force another UR timeout with less than four minutes in regulation. Nikitas finished with a career-high 19 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the floor.
Ruths led WU with 22 points, while Wallis added 13 points for the Bears. Onyiriuka paced UR with 22 points and 10 rebounds. WU held a 22-0 advantage in points at the charity stripe; Ruths went 8-for-9 and Nikitas went 6-for-6.
Washington University returns to action at noon Sunday when it hosts Carnegie Mellon University at the WU Field House.