The Bears shot 57.4 percent (31-54) from the field in the victory, and outrebounded the Maroons, 31-26. Washington U., who leads Division III in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.6), had 22 assists in the victory
Junior Cameron Smith and freshman Dylan Richter had 13 points, while junior Aaron Thompson added 11 points on 3-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc. Senior Sean Wallis added nine points, four rebounds and a game-high 11 assists in the victory.
Washington U. connected on seven of its first eight shots from the field to jump out to a lead of 18-11 seven minutes into the game. Wallis, who had seven assists in the first half, found freshman Alex Toth for a lay-up, and then Toth nailed an 18-footer to push WU’s lead to 24-19.
After two free-throws by Corning, the Bears responded with a 7-0 run to take their largest lead of the game at 31-21 with 7:08 left. A put-back by Smith, a deep three-pointer by sophomore Caleb Knepper, Newton, Ill. (Newton) and a 15-foot jump shot by junior Zach Kelly culminated the run.
Chicago (0-12, 0-1 UAA), who came into the game averaging 8.0 three’s made per game, continued to stay in the contest with its long range shooting. Michael Sustarsic connected on a triple from the top of the key, and then Machones hit Chicago’s eighth three of the half to trim the advantage to 41-35.
The Bears took a 46-40 lead to the locker room after shooting a blistering 70.4 percent (19-27) from the field. Washington U. outrebounded the Maroons, 13-11, and had 14 assists in the opening 20 minutes of action. Smith had 11 points of 5-of-8 shooting from the field to lead the Bears, while Machones was 4-for-4 from three to lead all scorers with 14 points. Chicago was 9-of-17 from three-point range in the first half.
Corning’s three-pointer in front of the Maroon bench cut the WU advantage to 51-49, but Wallis picked up his 10th assist of the game on the ensuing play as he found a cutting Richter for a three-pointer at the top of the key.
The Maroons cut the lead to 56-54 with 12:33 remaining, but an 11-2 run pushed WU’s advantage to 67-56 after a put-back by Kelly. Thompson drained his third triple of the half to put the game out of reach at 72-58.
Senior Tyler Nading picked up two fouls in the first half, including his school-record breaking foul at the 15:24 mark. Nading has accumulated 322 fouls in his four-year career on the Danforth Campus, breaking Matt Greear’s mark of 320 set from 1995-98. Matt Corning (18 points) and Adam Machones (16) scored in double figures for Chicago, which hit 11-of-27 from three-point range, including just 2-of-10 in the second half.
The win for the Bears was their fourth-straight in a UAA opener, and improved its record to 16-6 all-time in the first game of the conference slate. Washington U., the coaches’ pick to claim the conference championship, is the all-time leader in UAA victories with a 222-70 (.760) overall record.
Washington University (11-1, 1-0 UAA) continues conference action at home on Friday, Jan. 16, against Case Western Reserve University. Game time is set for 8 p.m. at the WU Field House.