No. 10 Men's Basketball Rebounds With 82-56 Win Over Elmhurst
BOX | HIGHLIGHTS
St. Louis, Mo., December 15, 2012 – The No. 10 ranked Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team rebounded from its first loss of the season with an 82-56 victory over Elmhurst College Saturday at the WU Field House in St. Louis.
Junior forward Chris Klimek scored a game-high 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field and 8-of-11 from the free-throw line. Klimek, who has scored in double figures in eight of the first 10 games played, eclipsed the 400-point plateau for his career. Senior guard Ben Hoener added a season-high 14 points and four assists off the bench for Washington University.
Sophomore forward Matt Palucki had nine points and four rebounds, while senior center Robert Burnett chipped in eight points and 10 boards (five offensive, five defensive). Junior guard Tim Cooney added six points and a season-high eight boards in the win.
Washington U. shot 54.4 percent (31-57) from the field and had a 52-24 advantage in points in the paint. The Bears continued its domination on the boards, outrebounding Elmhurst 47-26. Washington U. has outrebounded nine of 10 opponents this season, and ranks first in all NCAA Divisions with a +16.4 rebound margin.
Klimek was the story in the first half scoring 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field. He scored seven-straight points to give the Bears a 9-3 lead, and then recorded back-to-back lay-ups to make it 15-8 with 14:11 remaining. An alley-oop dunk from Cooney pushed the advantage to 17-8. After starting the game 1-of-5 from the field, Washington U. hit 7-of-8 field goals during that span.
Elmhurst (2-6) kept it close with its outside shooting, and a three-pointer by Kyle Wuest from the wing trimmed the WUSTL lead to 19-14. The Bears took their largest lead of the first half at 30-16 with 6:08 to play on a lay-up by Klimek. Hoener added a pair of lay-ups late in the first half and had eight points off the bench on 4-of-5 shooting.
Washington U. took a 36-25 lead to half as the Bears shot 55.2 percent (16-29) from the field and had a 10-2 advantage in points off turnovers. The Bears defense limited Elmhurst to 33.3 percent (10-30) in the opening 20 minutes of play.
Klimek scored the first seven points in the second half, as Washington U. held onto an 11-point lead at 43-32. The Bears continued to remain in control and put the game out of reach with a 17-3 run to make it 69-43 with 4:45 remaining. Washington U.’s defense limited Elmhurst to 1-for-9 shooting during the decisive run. The Bears took their largest lead of the game (76-47) following a three-pointer by junior guard Kevin Bischoff.
Nick Sanforth (11 points) and Bryan Ackerman (10 points) scored in double figures for Elmhurst, which had its two-game winning streak snapped. The Bluejays shot 34.4 percent (21-61) from the field and hit just 5-of-21 (23.8%) from three-point range.
Washington University (9-1) concludes first semester play with a road game Thursday, Dec. 20, at MacMurray College. Game time is set for 7 p.m., and will be broadcast live on the Bear Sports Network.
Bear Notebook: Washington U. has won the last two meetings between the two teams, and tied the all-time series 2-2 … The Bears are 4-0 at home this season and have an 83-11 record dating back to the 2005-06 season … Washington U. has won 92 of its last 98 games when leading at the half … It was the seventh game this season that the Bears have scored 70 or more points … Junior guard Alan Aboona dished out six assists and has his streak of 16-straight games with a three-pointer snapped.