Junior Troy Ruths scored a team-high 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds as the No. 11 Washington University men’s basketball team defeated visiting Case Western Reserve, 86-65, Sunday in University Athletic Association (UAA) action at the WU Field House.
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Ruths notched double figure scoring for the 21st consecutive time and brought his career scoring mark to 985, needing just 15 points to become the 16th player in school history to reach the 1,000-point mark.
Senior Nick Nikitas and sophomore Sean Wallis each chipped in 13 points for the Bears, who improved to 18-3, and 8-2 in the UAA. The win also marked the 13th straight home victory for Washington University dating back to last season. The Spartans dropped their 12th straight contest, falling to 4-18, including 0-11 in the UAA.
Wallis added nine assists on the day, while freshman Aaron Thompson also reached double figure scoring with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
Case Western Reserve jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the opening three minutes, while Washington University missed its first five field goal attempts. Thompson then scored eight of his 11 points during a 10-0 run that gave the Bears their first lead at 10-8 at the 14:49 mark.
Trailing 12-10 at the 14:04 mark in the first stanza of play, Washington University finished the half by outscoring Case Western Reserve, 37-9, to take a 47-23 halftime lead. Ruths scored 12 points during that run, while Nikitas chipped in nine points. The Bears’ defense also held the Spartans without a field goal during that run for a stretch of 6:30. The Bears shot 57.6 percent from the field in the first half, while the Spartans shot 34.6 percent.
The Bears finished the contest shooting a season-high 60.3 percent from the floor, while winning their 24th game in the last 25 meetings against the Spartans. Case Western Reserve shot 40.9 percent in the game and was led by St. Louis native Steve Young in scoring with a game-high 22 points.
Washington University returns to action Fri., February 16 at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pa. Game time is set for 8 p.m. (ET) at Skibo Gymnasium.