Senior Rob Keller caught fire early in the game as he scored nine of the Bears first 11 points. With the score tied at 11-11, Chicago went on a 15-4 run to move ahead 26-15 with 4:24 left in the first half. Freshman Troy Ruths cut the Chicago lead to nine with a lay-up, but the Maroons still took a 33-21 lead to the locker room.
Washington University shot just 26.7 percent (8-of-30) from the field in the first half, including 11.1 percent (1-9) from three-point range. Keller had nine points while Ruths added five points and four rebounds in the opening frame.
Trailing 36-21, the Bears’ shots finally started to fall as WU scored on four successive possessions to trim the lead to 36-29 with 17:23 remaining in the game. Chicago built the lead back to 42-29, but the Bears responded with a 9-0 run to cut the lead to four (42-38).
WU cut the lead to one (50-49), but Mike Dolezal of Chicago connected on back-to-back three pointers to put the Maroons up 56-51 with 1:49 remaining. The Bears trimmed the lead to 59-56, but Drew Adams sealed the win with two free-throws.
Keller led the Bears with 14 points while Ruths and junior Mike Grunst, Milwaukee added eight points each. Dolezal led Chicago (5-7, 1-0 UAA) with 14 points off the bench. Washington U. shot 37.7 (23-of-61) percent for the game from the field, including just 11.1 percent (2-of-18) from three-point range.
Washington University (8-4, 0-1 UAA) returns home on Fri, Jan 14 against Case Western Western Reserve University. Tip off is set for 8 p.m.