The Case Western Reserve University men's basketball team closed out a four-game road stretch on Sunday afternoon in Saint Louis, Missouri with an 88-55 setback to Washington University (Mo.).

The Spartans dropped to 9-9 overall with the loss, including a 2-5 mark in the University Athletic Association.  Washington remained in a tie atop the conference standings with a 5-2 league record, and improved to 12-6 overall.

A season-high 13 different players scored in the game for the Spartans, including junior forward Michael Hollis, who led all CWRU players with nine points on a four-of-10 shooting effort.  Sophomore guard Ignas Masiulionis and freshman forward Ryan Newton came off the bench to score eight and seven points, respectively.

The Spartans' first five made shots on Sunday were all three pointers, but the Bears were able to take an 11-point lead in the early going of the contest.  Hollis hit a layup with 8:12 remaining, the team's first two of the game, cutting Washington's lead to 25-17.  However, the Bears would launch on a 16-2 run over the next five-and-a-half minutes, before a layup by junior guard Sam Hansen with 2:24 remaining ended Washington's run and set the score to 41-21.  Layups by Newton and freshman guard Robert Faller helped the Spartans keep it at a 20-point game heading into halftime, 45-25.

A three by Hansen with 17:52 to play in the second half pulled CWRU back within 17 points, 45-28, but that would be as close as the Spartans would get for the remainder of the game, as the Bears pulled away to lead by as many as 37 points in the final period on the way to the win.

Justin Hardy led the Bears with 18 points, and Matt Nester added 16 for Washington in the game.

The Spartans will return to Cleveland for their annual Throwback Weekend next weekend, as CWRU will host Chicago on Friday night at 8:00 p.m. and Washington at noon on Sunday.  Both games will be played at historic Adelbert Gymnasium on the Case Western Reserve University campus, and the Spartans will be wearing the uniforms of the Case Institute of Technology Rough Riders and the Western Reserve University Red Cats.