*Washington University in St. Louis has temporarily changed its spectator policy for home events. Spectators will no longer be allowed at home sporting events until further notice.*

St. Louis, Mo. – The No. 15 Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team closed out 2021 with its ninth-straight win, defeating Westminster 86-57.

The Bears are off to their best start since the 2014-15 season when they won 11 games in a row to open the season.

WashU's first four buckets were from behind the arc – three from graduate student Jack Nolan and one from senior Justin Hardy – putting the Bears up 12-5 with just under 14 minutes left on the clock.

Seven-straight points from the Bluejays cut WashU's advantage to 12-10, but a 3-pointer from senior Kameron Mack halted Westminster's run.

A dunk from junior Kevin Davet and another 3-pointer from Nolan pushed the Bears' lead to 20-14 with 11:15 left on the clock.

With just under nine minutes to play in the first half, back-to-back jumpers from first-year Hayden Doyle and Nolan gave WashU its first double-digit lead of the game. Hardy then extended that lead to 33-21 with a shot from behind the arc at the 7:09 mark.

Senior David Windley put in a layup with 3:28 on the clock and Doyle followed that with another bucket, extending WashU's lead to 40-27.

The Bears kept up the hot streak from behind the arc as Hardy drained a 3-pointer with 1:24 left, giving the Bears a 43-30 advantage. Hardy then closed out the first half with two free throws, sending the Bears into the break with a 45-32 edge.

WashU came out of halftime to score the first five points, as Hardy put in two layups and Davet netted the back end of a pair of free throws.

With just over 18 minutes on the clock, the Bears started what would end up an 11-0 run.

Doyle and Hardy hit back-to-back layups, followed by a bucket from Davet. Following a Westminster timeout, Doyle added another layup and Nolan drilled a 3-pointer to close out the run and give WashU a 61-34 lead.

Six-straight points from the Bluejays closed the Bears' lead to 61-40, prompting a WashU timeout.

The Bears answered with a dunk from Hardy followed by a 3-pointer from Doyle. WashU then went on a 6-0 run, starting with a 3-pointer from senior Charlie Jacob, then a free throw from Davet and a jumper from first-year Jake Wolf.

With 7:34 left on the clock, Jacob drained another shot from behind the arc to extend WashU's advantage to 75-44. The Bears continued to push, as sophomore Tyler Carlson put in a layup and Windley hit a 3-pointer.

Junior Tanner Baird scored the final points of the game for the Bears, netting a layup and converting the ensuing free throw after being fouled.

As a team, WashU hit 14 shots from 3-point range and outrebounded the Bluejays 45-27. The Bears also forced 20 Westminster turnovers.

Hardy led all scorers with 21 points as well as nine rebounds, three assists and one steal. Nolan netted 20 points, including six 3-pointers, and grabbed four rebounds while Doyle finished with 13 points and four rebounds. Davet scored 10 points, grabbed five rebounds and recorded one block.

Jaxon Althaus led Westminster with 13 points.

WashU returns to action on Saturday, January 8 at Chicago at 1 p.m.