WashU’s Jabari Chiphe flips up a shot during Friday’s win over Carnegie-Mellon. (Photo courtesy: WashU Athletics)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carnegie-Mellon (11-6, 3-3) | 42 | 45 | 87 |
| #22 WashU (13-4, 3-3) | 47 | 48 | 95 |
Steven Millbrook
Staff Writer
CLAYTON, MO — The No. 22-ranked Washington University men’s basketball team held off a late surge and pulled away in the final minutes to earn a hard-fought, 95-87 win over Carnegie Mellon, Friday night at the WashU Field House.
WashU led for most of the game, but saw its lead slip away with just under four minutes to go, when the visiting Tartans took an 81-80 lead. But the Bears responded with an 11-2 run over the next three minutes to take a 91-83 lead with 1:17 to go.
For the game, WashU shot 54 percent — making 37 of its 71 shot attempts, including 11 three-pointers — to hold off CMU.
Four Bear players scored in double figures, led by sophomore Will Grudzinski, who had 21 points and nine rebounds. Senior Jabari Chiphe scored a career-high 16 points, while juniors Kyle Beedon and Hayden Doyle added 15 points and 13 points, respectively. Doyle also had a game-high four assists.
WashU led 47-42 at the half, then opened the second half with a quick 9-3 spurt to take its first double-digit lead, at 56-45, with 17:08 left in the game.
The Bears held that lead until there were just over 10 minutes left, when the Tartans went on an 11-0 run to tie the game at 65.
The teams traded baskets, but WashU maintained its lead until CMU scored six straight points to go ahead 81-80.
A layup from Davis gave WashU the lead again and Chiphe followed that with a pair of free throws.
Up one with 2:46 on the clock, the Bears scored seven-straight points, starting with a 3-pointer from Grudzinski. Doyle followed with a jumper and Oliff put in a fastbreak layup for the 91-83 lead at the 1:17 mark.
After a Tartans’ bucket, Davis laid one in and Grudzinski hit a pair of free throws with 11 seconds remaining to put the Bears up double-digits, 95-85. A jumper from CMU’s Jack Stone with one second remaining ended things with a WashU win.
The Bears will face another tough opponent on Sunday, when they’ll host the No. 2-ranked team in the nation, Case Western Reserve. That matchup at the WashU Field House is scheduled to tip off at 12 p.m.
Carnegie-Mellon 87
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 04 | Allen,Justin | * | 36 | 10-22 | 2-8 | 6-9 | 0-3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 28 |
| 11 | Holmes,R.J. | * | 34 | 7-11 | 1-3 | 3-4 | 1-5 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| 45 | Casey,Nolan | * | 24 | 3-4 | 0-1 | 2-2 | 3-3 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 31 | Booher,Aidan | * | 28 | 2-6 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 05 | DeJardin ,Buckley | * | 22 | 1-7 | 0-1 | 2-2 | 1-3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 21 | Stone,Jack | 29 | 9-17 | 2-7 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 20 | |
| 20 | Murphy,Aidan | 14 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 33 | Pavlounis ,Lucas | 12 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 15 | Smith,Josiah | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 33-69 | 8-25 | 13-17 | 7-23 | 30 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 87 |
#22 WashU 95
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32 | Grudzinski, Will | * | 33 | 8-13 | 3-6 | 2-2 | 0-9 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 21 |
| 24 | Beedon, Kyle | * | 26 | 6-13 | 3-8 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| 04 | Doyle, Hayden | * | 33 | 5-10 | 2-3 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| 10 | Oliff, Yogi | * | 28 | 4-8 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 2-5 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| 34 | Kapral, Calvin | * | 22 | 4-9 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-5 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 25 | Chiphe, Jabari | 21 | 5-10 | 2-4 | 4-4 | 1-3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 16 | |
| 15 | Davis, Jake | 18 | 4-6 | 0-1 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
| 33 | Gale, George | 14 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 22 | Lawton, Emmett | 3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 11 | Cohen, Ryan | 2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 38-71 | 11-24 | 8-11 | 7-30 | 37 | 11 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 95 |
2023-24 WashU Bears Men’s Basketball Schedule
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 28, 2024 (Sunday) | 12 p.m. | Home | #2 Case Western Reserve | WashU Field House |
| February 2, 2024 (Friday) | 6:30 p.m. | Away | Carnegie Mellon | Pittsburgh, Pa. / Wiegant Gymnasium |
| February 4, 2024 (Sunday) | 11 a.m. | Away | #2 Case Western Reserve | Cleveland, Ohio / Horsburgh Gymnasium |
| February 9, 2024 (Friday) | 6:30 p.m. | Away | Emory | Atlanta, Ga. / Woodruff P.E. Center |
| February 11, 2024 (Sunday) | 11 a.m. | Away | University of Rochester | Rochester, N.Y. / Louis Alexander Palestra |
| February 16, 2024 (Friday) | 7:30 p.m. | Home | #4 New York University | WashU Field House |
| February 18, 2024 (Sunday) | 12 p.m. | Home | Brandeis University | WashU Field House |
| February 24, 2024 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Home | University of Chicago | WashU Field House |