Washington U., which never trailed, opened the game with a 12-3 run and hit their first six field goal attempts. Junior center Mike Grunst punctuated the run with a two-handed slam and a baby hook to force an Emory timeout. After the break, the Bears continued their strong play as junior Scott Stone scored on a breakaway lay-up. Senior Rob Keller connected from downtown, marking the Bears’ sixth-straight basket to open the contest for a 17-3 lead.
The Eagles cut the Bears’ lead to seven points (27-20) with a little more than five minutes to play in the half, as senior Rashawn Allen, junior Jeff Hall and freshman Spiros Ferderigos each hit from downtown. However, WU responded with a 10-0 run of its own, highlighted by Keller and Stone’s treys from the left side to push ahead to 37-20. The Bears led 43-24 at the half.
Senior Anthony Hollins led the Bears with eight points, five assists and four rebounds in the opening frame. Grunst also finished the half with eight points on 4-of-5 shooting; WU shot .567 from the field as a team. Hall led Emory, which shot just .292 from the floor, with six points.
Emory jumped out of the gates in the second half with back-to-back baskets to trim Washington U.’s lead to 43-28. Senior Chase Fawcett and Ferderigos each hit short jumpers and the Bears whistled for a timeout.
WU extended its lead to 20 points when freshman Jim Grabowski fed classmate Troy Ruths for a jump hook in the lane. Grabowski hit a three-pointer from the left corner the next trip down the floor to give the Bears a 57-47 lead with 12:48 left on the clock.
After Emory cut its deficit to 13 (60-47), freshman Danny O’Boyle took his turn under the lights. After stealing the ball near Emory’s basket, O’Boyle dribbled the length of the floor for a lay-up and a foul. He converted the free throw for the three-point play to give the Bears a 16-point lead midway through the half.
Ferderigos, who finished with 16 points before fouling out, shot the Eagles back into the game with consecutive treys to bring them with eight points (63-55) with 7:00 on the clock. With less than three minutes to play, EU drew within 72-65 but would get no closer. Hall recorded a game-high 18 points for the Eagles.
Stone finished with 16 points and six assists to lead the Bears, while Grunst added 12 points and Hollins posted 11. Grunst also recorded a pair of blocked shots, giving him 100 for his career; he is only the sixth player in WU history to accumulate 100 career blocks.
Washington U., which owns an all-time record of 999-853 (.539), returns to action Friday, Jan. 21 at the University of Rochester. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. (EST) in Rochester, N.Y.