Box Score St. Louis, Mo., December 4, 2021 – The No. 20 Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team won the 37th Annual Lopata Classic on Saturday evening with a thrilling 59-51 win over St. Thomas.
The Bears have now won the Classic 26 times since it began in 1984.
Junior Kevin Davet opened the game with two free throws and a layup to give the Bears an early 4-0 edge over the Celts.
St. Thomas, however, went on a 10-0 run, including seven points from Christian Alaekwe, to go up 10-4 over the Bears. A jumper from Jack Nolan halted the Celts' run and a 3-pointer from senior Kameron Mack brought WashU back within three points at the 12:37 mark.
With just over eight minutes left to play in the first half, a 3-pointer from Nolan tied things up at 15 apiece and the Bears went up by four points following a jumper from Charlie Jacob and a layup from Nolan.
Following a foul behind the arc, St. Thomas' Freddie Ricks III hit all three free throws to bring the Celts within one point. Senior Justin Hardy extended the Bears' lead back to three with a layup but St. Thomas put in two straight buckets to take a 22-21 lead with 2:27 left, forcing a WashU timeout.
The Celts came out of the timeout to score the final six points of the half, heading into the break with a 28-21 advantage.
After exchanging baskets in the opening minutes of the second half, the Bears hit back-to-back 3-pointers from Hardy and first-year Hayden Doyle to cut the Celts' lead to 32-29.
The Bears continued to battle, holding St. Thomas to a three-point lead several times, before scoring seven-straight points to take the lead.
Hardy started things off with a layup and Jake Wolf followed up with a jumper. Hardy drilled a 3-pointer with just under nine minutes left to play to give the Bears a 41-39 advantage.
Although the Celts' hit a 3-pointer less than 30 seconds later, the Bears would go on a 7-0 run to go up 48-42 with 5:18 left.
Doyle started the run off with a layup and Nolan followed that with a defensive rebound right into a fast break jumper. Davet hit the front end of a pair of free throws and then slammed home an offensive rebound to close out the run.
St. Thomas' Calen Anderson and Alaekwe hit back-to-back 3-pointers for the Celts' to tie things up at 48 apiece but Doyle quickly hit another 3-pointer to give the Bears the 51-48 lead with 3:49 left to play.
Another 3-pointer from Alaekwe pulled the Celts within two points, but Davet scored on an offensive put back, was fouled and hit the free throw to give WashU a 56-51 lead. Doyle followed that up with a layup and Nolan hit the front end of a free throw to extend the lead to 59-51 with 13 seconds left.
Despite the Celts' efforts to add more points, the Bears held them off to claim the win and the tournament title.
Four players reached double-figures against St. Thomas, led by 15 points from Nolan. For his efforts, Nolan, who finished the weekend with 37 points, was named the Robert L. Burnes Most Valuable Player and earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
Hardy netted 12 points and grabbed four rebounds while Davet and Doyle each had 10 points and six rebounds. Davet, who also had two blocks, was also named to the All-Tournament Team.
The Bears, who are now 7-1, are back in action on Wednesday, Dec. 8 at 8 p.m. against Fontbonne, which is part of a double-header with the women's team.
Robert L. Burnes MVP: Jack Nolan
All-Tournament Team:
Jack Nolan, WashU
Kevin Davet, WashU
Freddie Ricks III, St. Thomas
Christian Alaekwe, St. Thomas
Seth Stanley, Hendrix
Jef Bikus, Hope
