Jaylen Nowell dribbled the clock down with Washington tied 75-75 with No. 9 Arizona. With the shot clocked turned off, Nowell made his move to the basket but his shot was blocked by 7-foot-1 Deandre Ayton with just seconds left. The ball deflected off Ayton’s hand and went right to a wide-open Dominic Green who got off a 3-pointer right before the buzzer sounded. Green’s 3-pointer found nothing but the bottom of the net as the Huskies knocked off Arizona, 78-75.
“I seen it, oh that’s good, as soon as I let it go,” Dominic Green said about what he was thinking when the ball left his hand.
After Green’s game winning 3-pointer, he was mobbed by his teammates and soon after the Dawg Pack stormed the court.
“I believe that our crowd was one of the main factors of us winning,” Washington head coach Mike Hopkins said emotionally after the win.
The sold out Alaska Airlines Arena, was so loud that Noah Dickerson said they had a hard time communicating on defense.
“We couldn’t hear anything,” Noah Dickerson said about the crowd.”It was hard for us to call out screens for each other.”
After the Huskies took a 14-point lead less than three minutes into the first half, the No. 9 Arizona Wildcats flexed their muscles. Arizona used a 13-1 run to get back in the game. The Huskies led nearly the entire game until the Wildcats tied the game at 56-56 after a 15-foot Deandre Ayton 15-foot made jump shot.
Washington and Arizona would trade baskets for the next six minutes until Arizona took a 73-70 lead with 1:46 remaining after two Allonzo Trier made free throws. But Dominic Green in what would not be his biggest shot of the night made a game-tying 3-pointer with 1:23 reaming. Washington would double team Deandre Ayton forcing him to step out of bounds on the next possession. Noah Dickerson would make a layup on the other end to give UW a 75-73 lead with 43 seconds left. But the potential No. 1 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, Deandre Ayton woul would tie the game with a layup and was fouled. Going to the free throw line with 22 seconds left, Ayton missed the free throw that would have given Arizona the lead.
And you know the rest……
COLD BLOODED! ? Dominic Green hits the last second 3️⃣ to give @UW_MBB the win. He earns the @OpusBank #12Best moment. pic.twitter.com/NXQm1vzjdT
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) February 4, 2018
Washington improves to 17-6 on the season and 7-3 in conference play. Arizona dropped just their second game in their last 18. The Wildcats fall to 19-5 and 9-2 in conference play.
The MVP of the night of course goes to Dominic Green. The junior not only hit the game winning 3-pointer but also made 4-5 three-pointers. Green scored 14 points on the night.
Noah Dickerson had a night to remember going against the talented 7-foot-1 Deandre Ayton. Dickerson went right at Ayton and finished with 25 points and seven rebounds.
David Crisp scored 16 points off of 6-12 shooting from the field.
Jaylen Nowell finished with 14 points.
Arizona Was led by Dusan Ristic’s 21 points.
Seattle native Allonzo Trier finished with 20 points.
Deandre Ayton scored 19 points, 12 rebounds, and three blocks.
When the Huskies wake up Monday morning they will likely find themselves in the top-25 after home wins against No. 25 Arizona State and No. 9 Arizona.
Washington plays at Oregon next Thursday.
