Trailing 13-10, junior Nick Nikitas came off the bench and provided a spark for the Bears as he nailed back-to-back three’s to give the Bears the 16-13 lead with 9:07 remaining. Brandon Woodhead kept Chicago in the game in the first half as he nailed a deep three-pointer and then had a 15-foot pull jumper as the Maroons regained the 20-16 lead.
The Bears went ice cold from the field as they missed six consecutive shots, and the Maroons took advantage. UC scored eight consecutive points to move ahead 31-21 with 2:01 remaining. The Bears managed to outscore Chicago 6-1 in the final two minutes to trim the halftime lead to 32-28.
Washington U. shot 37.5 percent from the field in the first half, including just 30.8 percent (4-13) from three-point range. Four Bears had six points in the first half, while Woodhead led Chicago with 10 points.
Chicago (14-10, 7-6 UAA) scored the first six points of the second half to gain its largest lead of the game at 39-28 with 16:00 minutes remaining. The Maroons took their largest lead of the game at 56-42 with 8:42 remaining after a jumper by Eric Hicks.
Senior Mike Grunst led the Bears with 16 points, while sophomore Troy Ruths added 11 points. Jesse Meyer led Chicago with 18 points, while Jason Hicks and Woodhead added 13 points each.
The Bears struggled from the field for the game shooting 35.4 percent, including just 25 percent from three-point range. Chicago was 23-of-28 from the free-throw line, while the Bears struggled hitting just 5-of-13 shots from the stripe.