Carnegie Mellon opened a 7-2 lead early in the contest before the Bears reeled off 10 straight points. Junior Neal Griffin hit back-to-back three-pointers, and sophomore Troy Ruths corralled a loose ball for a lay-up. Freshman Tyler Nading took the ball the length of the floor for two to give WU a 12-9 edge with 16:18 left in the half.
CMU responded with a 12-0 run of its own, though, sparked by three treys by senior A.J. Straub. Senior Barry Dunn capped off the run with a jump hook in the post, giving the Tartans a 26-18 advantage. CMU extended to a 39-26 lead when Straub hit two more triples, forcing the Bears to call timeout at the 7:17 mark.
The Tartans kept their 13-point lead (46-33) at the break. Ruths led the Bears with 14 points and seven rebounds, while Straub’s five three-point field goals accounted for his 15 points. Senior Clayton Barlow-Wilcox added 11 points and eight boards for CMU.
CMU maintained its double-digit lead for the much of the second half. The Bears trimmed the deficit to seven points (77-70) at the 5:34 mark when senior Scott Stone hit a three-pointer from the left corner. After a Bears timeout, senior Mike Grunst and Griffin each converted two free throws apiece to make it a 77-74 game with a little more than four minutes on the clock.
Stone’s two free throws drew WU within two points (78-76), but Straub, who tallied a team-high 21 points on seven treys, answered with a three-pointer from the right corner to seal the win. Ruths finished with a career-high 27 points on 10-of-19 from the field; he also grabbed 11 rebounds. Griffin added a career-best 13 points, while Nading contributed 11 points and seven rebounds.
Washington University returns to action Friday, Feb. 3 at Carnegie Mellon University. Tip off is set for 8 p.m. (ET) in Pittsburgh, Pa.