ST. LOUIS – In search of its first UAA win of the season, Washington University-St. Louis blistered the nets with 73 percent shooting from the field in the first half on Sunday afternoon. The Bears hit 21 of 29 floor shots and were more accurate outside the arc. WUSTL made 12 of 16 three-pointers (75%). Five different players sank treys.
The ringleader was sophomore guard Jack Nolan. He had 22 points by halftime on perfect shooting: 7-7 from the floor, 6-6 outside the arc, 2-2 at the line. He finished with a career high 25 points and hit seven threes.
Washington led, 66-30, at the half and finished with a 93-62 victory. The Bears are 1-2 in the University Athletic Association. Rochester, which lost its second straight, is 11-3 overall, 1-2 in the UAA.
Two big runs did it for the hosts. With the score tied at 6-6 three minutes into the game, Washington went on a 19-2 run to take a 25-8 lead with more than 13 minutes left in the half. Nolan hit two triples and Matt Nester made one. WUSTL finished the half with a 13-0 rip in the last three minutes. Nolan hit his seventh trey to start it, then made two free throws to finish it. Marcus Meyer scored six straight points in the run, four from the line.
Nolan was joined in double figures by Nester and Justin Hardy with 12 apiece. Charlie Jacob scored 10 points.
Rochester's scoring leader was
Ryan Algier with 10 points.
Patrick Benka scored eight.
Michael Mangan and
Kailan Lee had seven points. Five other players scored four points apiece.
The Yellowjackets return home to open a four-game homestand. It begins on Friday when Carnegie Mellon comes to the Palestra. CMU ran its record to 3-0 with an 81-67 win over NYU in Pittsburgh on Sunday. On January 20, Rochester will host Case Western Reserve University.
Final stats showed Washington cooled off in the second half, hitting 9 of 28 from the floor, 5 of 16 outside the arc. For the game, the Bears shot .526 from the floor (30-57), .531 on threes (17-32), and .842 at the stripe (16-19). WUSTL held a 40-28 edge on the backboards and commited 13 turnovers.
Rochester finished at .403 for the game (25-62; 13-32 in the second half). UR made four of 23 shots outside the arc (.174) and was 8-14 at the foul line (.571). Rochester had 12 giveaways.
