St. Louis, Mo., November 15, 2010 – The No. 20 ranked Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team opened the 2010-11 season with a 79-57 victory over MacMurray College on Monday night in Jacksonville, Ill.

Senior Spencer Gay led the Bears with a double-double, picking up 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting with 13 rebounds. Junior Alex Toth also recorded a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds, hitting 9-of-11 from the foul line. Sophomore Ben Hoener added a career-high 13 points, six assists and four rebounds in his first career start, while senior Caleb Knepper had eight points off the bench on two three-pointers made.

The Bears shot 24 of 57 (42.1 percent) from the field for the game, and hit 6-of-15 from three-point range. Washington University also hit 23-of-35 (65.7 percent) from the foul line in the win. The Bears outrebounded MacMurray 46-31, and committed just nine turnovers.

Washington U. held onto a 35-28 lead at halftime after connecting on just 11-of-30 from the field in the opening 20 minutes of play. Hoener led the Bears with seven first-half points.

MacMurray (0-1) shot 22-of-57 (38.6 percent) from the field, and had two players score in double figures in C.J. McClellan (15 points, seven rebounds) and Jerel Robertson (12 points, six rebounds).

Washington University (1-0) continues its five-game road trip against the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire on Friday, Nov. 19, in Platteville, Wis. Game time is scheduled for 5 p.m. UW-Eau Claire opened the season with a 77-64 victory over the College of St. Scholastica on Monday.

Bear Notebook: The victory for head coach Mark Edwards was the 530th of his career … Washington U. had a 16-4 advantage in points off turnovers in the win … Sophomore Max Needle also made his first career start, scoring nine points on 2-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc.