PICTURED ABOVE: Brayden Teuscher and Peter Smith each earned All-Tournament recognition at the Lee Pfund Classic.

Wheaton, Ill. – The Washington University (Mo.) Bears won a battle of nationally-ranked teams on Saturday night as WashU topped the Wheaton Thunder 73-69 in the championship game of the 2014 Lee Pfund Classic. Wheaton, ranked 19th in the Preseason D3hoops.com Top-25, is now 2-2 on the season. The Bears, ranked ninth in the same poll, improve to 4-0 on the year.
 
Wheaton took an early 10-4 lead in tonight's game, but the Bears responded with six points to tie the game at 10-10. The first half continued to be back-and-forth with seven ties and five lead changes. The contest was tied 34-34 at halftime.
 
Wheaton led 41-40 with 15:45 remaining in the second half when the Thunder used six un-answered points to take a 47-40 lead with 14:35 left in the game. WashU responded with a 9-2 run to tie the contest at 49-49. The Bears utilized a run to build up a seven-point edge at 61-54 with 6:35 left in regulation.
 
WashU led 65-60 with 3:25 remaining in the game when two free throws by Wheaton's Brayden Teuscher and two more by Michael Berg trimmed the guests' lead to 65-64 with 2:44 left in the game. Traditional three-point play by WashU's Nick Burt extended the Bears' lead to 68-64 with 1:37 left in the game. The Bears increased the lead to 72-66 with 30-seconds left in the game; however, a three-pointer by Wheaton's Peter Smith cut the guests' lead to 72-69. WashU's David Fatoki made one of two free throw attempts with 16-seconds left for a 73-69 advantage. A pair of missed three-point attempts by Wheaton in the final 10- seconds missed as WashU emerged with the win.
 
Brayden Teuscher, an all-tournament selection, led the Thunder with 22 points on the night. Peter Smith also represented Wheaton on the all-tournament team with 18 points and 10 rebounds.  Michael Berg contributed 13 points, with eight rebounds. Joel Smith contributed seven rebounds and five points off the Thunder bench. Caleb DeMoss dished out eight assists for the hosts.
 
Nick Burt scored 17 points, with 11 rebounds for the Bears. Burt was named the Will Landry Memorial Tournament MVP and was joined as an all-tournament selection with teammate Matt Palucki. Palucki also scored 17 points with 11 rebounds. Matt Highsmith added 14 points off the Bears' bench.  

Wheaton recorded a 38.3% (23-60) field goal percentage, with 37.9% (11-29) from three-point range and 80% (12-15) at the free throw line. WashU shot 39.4% (26-66) from the field, with 25% (4-16) behind the three-point arc and 73.9% (17-23) at the charity stripe. The Bears owned a 44-37 edge on the boards, including a 15-9 advantage on the offensive glass.