No. 4 Maroons Open UAA Play with 85-62 Win over No. 8 Bears
Shooting over 50% from the field, the #4 University of Chicago men's basketball team earned a dominant win over #8 Washington University St. Louis to open up UAA play on Saturday afternoon. In a packed crowd of over 1,200 people at the Ratner Center, UChicago defeated its first Top 10 opponent of the season, cruising to an 85-62 win.
The Maroons set the tone of the game early, sparking their offense by taking an early 5-0 lead in the first two minutes. After a bit back and forth, Daniel Cochran found Nick Roper on a fast break for a two-handed slam, extending the lead to seven.
The Bears found their offense as a layup in the paint cut the deficit back to five, but the Maroons quickly responded with as Shane Regan scored three straight baskets inside, and Eamonn Kenah knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to jump the Maroons on a 19-0 run. Going into halftime, UChicago held a 41-26 advantage over the Bears.
UChicago continued to apply pressure after the break. Cochran opened the second half with a fast-break three, Roper followed with another from deep, and Kenah buried a transition triple to push the lead to 50–26 less than two minutes into the half. WashU made several attempts to close the gap, but the Maroons consistently responded with baskets of their own, including a corner three from Noah Pit and multiple finishes in the paint by Regan.
Kenah's fifth triple of the afternoon sealed the deal for UChicago. From then on, the Maroons maintained a double-digit cushion the rest of the way.
Graduate student Shane Regan led the Maroons with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists, shooting an impressive 71.4% from the floor. Kenah added 19 points and Cochran finished with 14 points. Nick Roper chipped in 13 as UChicago shot 54.7% from the floor and 46.4% from three-point range.
With the win, the Maroons extend their win streak to nine and improve to 11-1 on the season.