After a heartbreaking 2-point loss at Gonzaga last week, the Huskies rebounded to defeat Seattle University, 70-62, Sunday night.
Washington was able to grow their lead to as much as 11 points late in the first half. But a technical foul by UW head coach Mike Hopkins for arguing about a foul call ended up costing the Huskies four points at the end of the half. Despite the technical, UW led 41-34 at the break.
The technical foul would not cost the Huskies however. Washington’s hot shooting continued out of the halftime break, as they went on a 13-0 run to grow their lead to, 54-36. The Huskies were so dialed in on defense, that SU only scored four points in the first 10 minutes of the second half as they grew their lead to 20 points.
The Redhawks would not go away quietly after the game looked all but over. Seattle U. would go on an 11-0 run of their own, cutting UW’s lead to 60-52 with 4:53. At that point, UW made just one of their last 14 field goal attempts. The Redhawks run would continue as they narrowed UW’s lead to 62-60 with two minutes to play after going on a 19-2 run. But UW would outscore SU 6-0 in the final 1:03 to get the win.
Washington improves to 7-3 on the season. Seattle University falls to 9-3.
For much of the game UW played great on the offensive end. The Huskies made 6-of-9 3-point attempts in the first half and shot 57.1% from the field in the first 20 minutes. But UW shot just 10-27 in the second half and turned the ball over nine times. It was a game in which it looked like the Huskies took their foot off of the gas pedal after getting a 20-point lead in the second half.
Defensively, UW’s zone absolutely shutdown Seattle U. The Redhawks shot just 12-60 (35 %) from the field.
Players of the game
Jaylen Nowell: 18 points (7-13 FG) and 9 rebounds.
Noah Dickerson: 13 points (4-6 FG) and 6 rebounds.
Matisse Thybulle: 6 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks.
Takeaway
It was a game the Huskies should have won by at least 20 points after taking a 20-point lead with 13:21 left to play. But UW didn’t finish like great teams do. For about 30 minutes of the game, this was UW’s best performance both offensively and defensively of the season. Washington seems to play down to their competition at times when they should be winning these games with ease. You could see the frustration on coach Mike Hopkins’ face as his team let the Redhawks back in the game. Overall, it was still a good performance for UW but they need to pounce on lesser teams and get the reserves in earlier.
Looking ahead
Washington next travels to Atlantic City on Saturday to face No. 13 Virginia Tech. The game is at 4 p.m. on ESPNU. Washington then will have home games against Sacramento State and Cal State Fullerton before starting conference play.
