HOLLAND, Mich. – The No. 4 Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team opened the new year with a 72-65 win over Hope in the Glenn Van Wieren Classic, hosted by the Flying Dutchmen. With the win, the Bears are 9-1 on the year with one more non-conference game left prior to beginning UAA play next weekend.
 
Five Bears reached double figures, led by sophomore Connor May with 14 points, seven rebounds and two steals. Senior Calvin Kapral netted 12 points and pulled down seven boards while junior Ryan Cohen also had 12 points to go with three rebounds and a team-high four assists. Senior Will Grudzinski scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds and senior Yogi Oliff scored 10 points and had three rebounds.
 
Although Hope scored the first basket of the game, the Bears netted five-straight on a 3-pointer from Cohen and a jumper from May for a 5-2 edge. Hope's Orion Yant put in a layup before Kapral scored three-straight buckets to give WashU an 11-4 lead at 17:12.
 
The Flying Dutchmen put up four points in a row but the Bears responded with a jumper from sophomore Anthony Przybilla and a pair of free throws from Cohen to a 15-8 edge with 14:05 on the clock.
 
A 3-pointer from Hope's Avery Sanchez made it a three-point, 16-13 game with 12:08 remaining in the first half and after the teams exchanged baskets, the Flying Dutchmen closed it to two-points, 19-17, midway through the half.
 
Up one point with just under seven minutes remaining in the first half, the Bears went on a 6-0 run behind points from May, Przybilla and sophomore Jake Davis to make it a 29-22 game with 6:21 on the clock.
 
As the first half clock ticked down, the teams continued to exchange baskets with the Bears holding a small lead. In the final 1:18, Grudzinski drained back-to-back 3-pointers to send WashU into halftime with a 43-33 lead over Hope.
 
The Bears opened the second half with the first four points from Cohen and Kapral, making it a 14-point, 47-33 game.
 
Hope went on to score the next six points, cutting the Bears' lead to eight points, 47-39 with just under 16 minutes remaining. WashU extended it back to double-digits following a layup from first-year Theo Rocca. From there, the Bears scored three more points on a free throw and a fastbreak layup from Cohen for a 53-40 game at 12:27.
 
Hope went on a 9-0 run over the next five minutes for a four-point, 53-49 game. The Bears answered with seven-straight points on a layup from Oliff as well as a layup and three free throws from May to extend WashU's lead to 60-49 with just over five minutes left on the clock.
 
The Bears remained in a double-digit lead until the final two minutes when Hope score four points in a row to cut it to seven. With 1:18 remaining, Oliff put in the back end of a pair of free throws and then laid one in. Kapral netted a pair of free throws to put the Bears back up by 10, 72-62.
 
With 10 seconds remaining, Hope hit the final points of the game, a 3-pointer from Parker Hovey, giving WashU the 72-65 win.
 
The Bears shot 25-for-50 (50%) and edged Hope on the boards, 36-35. The Flying Dutchmen went 26-for-72 (36.1%).
 
WashU takes on the University of Olivet tomorrow at 12 p.m. ET to close out the Glenn Van Wieren Classic.

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