CHICAGO – The University of Chicago men's basketball team fell behind early and couldn't recover in a 71-46 loss to Washington University – St. Louis on Thursday evening.

The Maroons dropped to 10-14 overall (5-8 in the University Athletic Association). The Bears improved to 17-7 on the season (7-6 UAA).

UChicago's offense struggled throughout as WashU's height and active defense cut off incursions into the post. The Maroons bombed away from the outside, but weren't able to find the bottom of the net. All told, they shot 1-for-16 from three-point range in the first half.

WashU scored the game's opening nine points before first-year Arrish Bhandal scored a layup to put UChicago on the board. But the Bears kept building onto their advantage from there, eventually going ahead 24-2 with 8:28 left in the half. The hosts eventually began to find some rhythm soon after, going on a 14-7 run over a six-minute stretch. WashU was still firmly in control at halftime, up 38-18.

A three-pointer by Bhandal cut the deficit to 17 points at 44-27. However, WashU surged back and kept their lead in the 20-25 point range for the remainder of the game.

Junior Bryce Hopkins provided some offensive spark with 11 points for the Maroons in the second half. He finished with 12 points and five rebounds on the night. Senior Brandon Beckman posted eight points and three rebounds. First-year Thomas Kurowski collected seven points and four rebounds.

The Maroons shot 28.3 percent from the field, 14.3 percent from three-point range (4-28) and 72.7 percent from the free throw line (8-11). The Bears made 46.0 percent of their field goals, 39.1 percent of their three-pointers (9-23) and 100 percent of their free throws (4-4).

WashU held the rebounding edge 44-35 and dominated points in the paint (38-12). The visitors were also effective in scoring points off turnovers (19-4) and on the fast break (14-0).

NEXT GAME:

• Saturday, Feb. 26 @ 1:00 PM – UChicago at Washington University – St. Louis