Only five times in the past 25 years had a UAA men’s basketball team gone to Chicago and St. Louis and come home with two wins. In mid-January, coach Brian Meehan’s squad twice rallied from a halftime deficit to made it six teams to complete the sweep.
On Jan. 18, the Judges trailed Chicago by 10 at the break, 34-24. They got within one a couple of times early in the second half thanks to seven early points from Gabriel Moton ’14, but it wasn’t until Derek Retos ’14 found Alex Stoyle ’14 on a fast-break that the Judges went ahead, 51-48. Retos connected from downtown on the next possession to make it a two-possession game, and the Judges outscored the Maroons, 35-21, in the second half for a 59-55 win.
Two days later at WashU, it was the Moton and Retos show in the second. The Judges handed the Bears a loss for just the eighth time in the last 100 games when they led at the half. After scoring just 21 points in the first half as a team, Retos and Moton combined to score 37 on their own – Retos with all of his game-high 23, and Moton with 14 of his 17. Moton also nailed the game-winning 3-pointer as the shot clock expired with 1:19 left in regulation as the Judges rallied for the 67-62 win.
That win improved the Judges’ record to 14-2 on the season and vaulted them to No. 19 in the nation, but a tougher schedule and devastating injuries saw the team limp to a 17-8 record and just shy of a return to the NCAA tournament.
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