Rochester, N.Y., January 13, 2013 – The No. 12-ranked Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team played back-and-forth with No. 4 University of Rochester, but the Yellowjackets shot 32-of-36 from the free-throw line to pull away for a 93-81 win over the Bears in University Athletic Association (UAA) action Sunday afternoon.
Free throws were the difference in the game as the Yellowjackets were 25-of-28 from the charity stripe in the second half alone, while the Bears finished 6-of-13 in the game. Rochester scored 18 of its final 22 points from the free-throw line in the game. Washington U. shot 50.8 percent (33-of-65) from the field, including 9-of-21 (42.9 percent) from three-point range in the game. Rochester finished with 51 percent shooting (25-of-49), including 11-of-23 (47.8 percent) from beyond the arc. The Yellowjackets also finished with a 32-31 edge on the boards.
After trailing 43-39 at halftime, Washington U. pulled even at 45-45 with 18:10 remaining in the second half after back-to-back baskets by senior center Robert Burnett and sophomore forward Matt Palucki. The Yellowjackets regained the lead with a three-pointer on their next possession, and stretched the lead to seven (53-46) with 16:28 left. The Bears pulled to within two (56-54) on a bucket by junior forward Chris Klimek with 11:34 to play, but Rochester went on a 22-5 run over the next six minutes to open up a 78-59 lead with 5:51 left. Washington U. cut the lead to single digits (82-73) with 3:00 left after back-to-back three-pointers by junior guard Alan Aboona and senior guard Ben Hoener. The Bears got as close as eight points (85-77) with 1:33 left, but Rochester scored its final 13 points from the free-throw line as the Yellowjackets picked up the 93-81 win.
Rochester jumped out to a 16-6 lead to open the game, but Washington U. answered with a 22-4 run over the next six minutes to take a 28-20 lead with 7:54 to play in the first half. The run included nine points by Klimek and a pair of three-pointers by Palucki. The Yellowjackets came back to regain the lead (31-30) with 4:52 remaining after a three-pointer and a three-point play by John DiBartolomeo. Rochester extended the lead to seven (41-34) with 2:10 left in the half, but a pullup jumper by Hoener and a three-pointer on an attempted ally-oop pass by Aboona brought the Bears to within two (41-39) with 38 seconds left. DiBartolomeo made a pair of free throws with 4.1 seconds left to give Rochester a 43-39 lead at halftime.
Klimek led six players in double figures for the Bears with 19 points, including 15 in the first half, and six rebounds. Aboona, junior guard Kevin Bischoff and Hoener added 11 points apiece. Aboona also had five rebounds and four steals, while Hoener dished out a team-high six assists. Palucki and sophomore forward Nick Burt finished with 10 points each, and Palucki also pulled down a team-high nine rebounds.
Washington U. dropped to 11-3 overall and 1-2 in UAA play with the loss, while Rochester remained perfect on the season at 14-0 overall and 3-0 in the conference. The Bears return to the WU Field House to host its first two home UAA games of the season. The Bears face New York University (12-2, 2-1 UAA) at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 18, before taking on Brandeis University (12-2, 3-0 UAA) at Noon Sunday, Jan. 20 at the WU Field House.
Bear Notebook: Washington U. leads the all-time series against Rochester 31-22 … The Yellowjackets have won four of the last five meetings between the two teams … Washington U. has not won in Rochester since an 82-78 win Jan. 29, 2010 … The Yellowjackets are one of four undefeated teams remaining in NCAA Division III … Rochester has won 19 straight UAA games at home, and has a 32-game regular-season home winning streak … Washington U. got outrebounded for just the third time this season … Klimek has scored in double-digits in 11 of the Bears' 14 games.