ST. LOUIS -- Junior forward Matt Palucki scored 22 of his career-high 32 points in the first half to lead No. 9 Washington (Mo.) to an 85-68 win against Webster in its final non-conference game on Saturday afternoon at the WU Field House.
Palucki also added 10 rebounds and three assists as he recorded the seventh double-double of his career. He was 12 of 18 from the field in the win, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range. Palucki is 13 of 22 from 3-point range in the Bears’ past three games.
Washington picked up its fourth consecutive win to improve its overall record to 9-2, while Webster falls to 5-5.
Palucki was the story in the first half for Washington as he scored 22 points on 8 of 9 shooting, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range. He shredded the Webster zone by scoring the first 12 points of the game for Washington.
Luke Silverman-Lloyd poured in a career-high 14 points off the bench on 4 of 8 shooting beyond the arc, while Cooney added 10 points, five assists, three rebounds and three steals. Junior guard David Fatoki added six assists off the bench in 13 minutes.
No. 1 Wisconsin-Stevens Point 74, Wisconsin-La Crosse 61
STEVENS POINT, Wis. -- A trio of runs in the second half helped No. 1 Wisconsin-Stevens Point pull away from visiting Wisconsin-La Crosse in the second half of a 74-61 win in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) action on Saturday afternoon at Bennett Court at Quandt Fieldhouse.
Tyler Tillema led UW-Stevens Point with a game-high 18 points on 7-for-13 shooting and also dished out a game-high five assists. Trevor Hass added 16 points on a 5-for-11 afternoon from the field. Alex Richard scored all 10 of his points in 12 minutes of action in the first half. Austin Ryf also scored 10.
UW-La Crosse hit 12 threes on 25 attempts (48.0 percent) in the game, including a 7-for-12 first half from behind the arc that helped the Eagles build a 33-32 halftime lead. The Eagles led by as many as seven early in the first half.
Braden Tice led UW-La Crosse with 16 points and six rebounds. Calahan Skogman scored 13, while Clint Rihn and Luke Tweed added 11 and 10, respectively.
UWSP shot 56.0 percent from the field in the game and outscored the Eagles 40-16 in the paint. The Pointers also held advantages in points off turnovers (17-7) and bench points (15-4) in the game. A 15-3 advantage in scoring from the free-throw line helped offset UW-La Crosse's 3-point shooting.
No. 2 Wooster 100, Denison 75
WOOSTER, Ohio -- Wooster shot more than 60 percent from the field in both halves and all 12 of its players who dressed scored, as the Fighting Scots reached the 100-point milestone for the first time this season while defeating Denison 100-75 in a North Coast Athletic Conference tilt on Saturday night at Timken Gymnasium.
Wooster (11-1, 5-0 NCAC), which last hit 100 exactly two years ago to the day, only had 15 points through 10 minutes of action, then the offense got hot with 3-pointers by Scott Purcell, Evan Pannell, and Purcell again during the next four possessions, as the Scots extended a 15-13 lead to 24-16 and forced Denison (4-7, 0-4 NCAC) into a timeout.
Wooster made 60.7 percent of its field goal attempts in the first half (17-for-28) and was even better during the second at 63.0 percent (17-for-27) for an overall rate of .618 (34-for-55).
In addition to a season high in points, the Scots' 20 assists, including a career-best five from Kenny DeBoer, marked the most as a team in 2013-14.
Five Wooster players reached double figures, paced by Pannell's season-high 19 points. He also distributed four assists without a turnover.
No. 3 Illinois Wesleyan 104, Elmhurst 73
ELMHURST, Ill. -- Third-ranked Illinois Wesleyan opened defense of its College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin crown with a 104-73 win on the road at Elmhurst's R.A. Faganel Hall on Saturday.
Illinois Wesleyan won for the eighth consecutive time and improved to 11-1 overall this season while the Bluejays, who came into the game winners of eight of their past nine games, slipped to 8-4 overall in the CCIW opener for both clubs.
The Titans rained in 16 3-point field goals, tied for fourth most in IWU single game history, with nine of those coming in the first half (in 16 attempts). IWU outrebounded the Bluejays 23-8 in the second half to hold a commanding 44-29 lead in boards in the game and the Titans handed out 21 assists for their 34 buckets.
"It was a typical CCIW game, hard-fought and physical, and we had a great team effort today," IWU head coach Ron Rose said. "We had a number of guys who played well and this team loves to play unselfishly and find the open man. All road wins in the conference are good wins."
This is the second game with 100-plus points for IWU this season after not eclipsing the century mark in the 2012-13 season. The Titans had 106 points versus Coe on Nov. 22.
No. 7 St. Thomas (Minn.) 82, Carleton 52
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Carleton gave No. 7 St. Thomas (Minn.) all it could handle in the first half, but the short-handed Knights could not keep pace in the second half as the Tommies pulled away for an 82-52 victory.
Carleton (4-5, 2-2 MIAC) trailed the conference leaders by just four points at intermission, but St. Thomas (7-2, 4-0 MIAC) opened the second half with a 22-6 run.
The Tommies scored 34 points off 17 Carleton turnovers and pulled down 22 offensive rebounds leading to a 22-5 advantage in second-chance points.
No. 8 WPI 70, Becker 64
LEICESTER, Mass. -- Junior Sam Longwell scored a career-high 30 points to lift WPI to a 70-64 victory against cross-town rival Becker in non-conference action on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Engineers improved their record to 10-1, while the Hawks fell to 4-5.
Along with netting a career high in points, Longwell also set a career mark with six 3-pointers. Zach Karalis chipped in with 15 points and Ryan Kolb scored nine points and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds. It was the final non-conference game of the season for WPI, who is now 23-1 the past two regular seasons against non-conference foes.
Becker was led by Donovin Ford-Hayes with a team-high 18 points and four steals. Junior David Maturah tallied 12 points, while Darius Sealy and Reginald Finney came off the bench to score 10 points apiece.
