Jaylen Nowell hit two contested jumpers in the final minute and a half to lead #25 Washington to a 62-61 win over Stanford. KZ Okpala missed a potential game winning 3-pointer before the buzzer for the Cardinal.
Nowell sat much of the second half after picking up his fourth foul with 16:37 to go but when Stanford’s Josh Sharma put the Cardinal up 59-58 following a 16 footer with 1:52 to go Nowell didn’t miss a beat.
On the Huskies ensuing possession Nowell drove to his right off a screen from Noah Dickerson and hit a pull up jumper over Okpala. Nowell went back on defense with his Gary Payton-esque snarl on his face nodding his head at Okpala who couldn’t believe the shot went in.
Nowell would victimize him again following a steal from Matisse Thybulle. Nowell drove to his right from the top of the key, pump faked Okpala who went flying past him and finished another jumper to make it 62-59.
Stanford tried to immediately answer but Sharma’s initial attempt was blocked by Hameir Wright. Oscar Da Silva’s put back cut Washington’s lead to one with 14 seconds to go. The Cardinal quickly fouled Nowell and got relief when he missed the front end of a 1 and 1.
Okpala had a chance to be the hero but David Crisp did an excellent job pressuring him all the way down the court without fouling him. Okpala pulled up behind the 3-point line and Thybulle used every inch of his 7 foot wingspan to challenge the double-clutched shot, when it missed there was a scramble for the ball which Noah Dickerson emerged from with the ball letting out a primal scream as the clock hit zeros.
It was another stop on a night in which Washington played excellent defense. In the first-half they held Stanford to just 26.9% from the field and 0-8 from behind the 3-point line. Washington went on a 7-0 run to finish the half taking a 29-23 lead into the intermission.
Okpala and Sharma picked up their third fouls in the first two minutes of the 2nd half and it seemed like Washington was going to pull away but Stanford started the half with a 7-0 run of their own capped by a 3-pointer by Marcus Sheffield that put the Cardinal up 30-29.
Not long after Nowell picked up his fourth foul, Naz Carter picked up his and then with 10:49 to go Noah Dickerson picked up his fourth on a questionable call that was initially called a charge before the referees overturned themselves. Suddenly Washington was short-handed.
Carter would come back in and made it 51-46 with 7:32 to go on a strong drive to his right but Washington’s lead wasn’t for long when Sheffield tied the game at 54 with another deep 3-pointer.
The teams traded buckets until Nowell gave the Huskies breathing room at the end. Sharma finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Cardinal.
Keys to the Game
The 2-3 Zone is alive and kicking
After Cal shredded the Huskies zone on Thursday, Washington had something to prove against a good offensive team. Stanford scored 98 points on Thursday against WSU and was the best shooting team in Pac-12 play at 47.8%, Washington held them to just 40%. In a game with several lead changes, Stanford could never pull away, their biggest lead on the night was 5 and they never led by more than 3 in the second-half. The Huskies forced Stanford into 19 turnovers taking advantage of Cardinal point guard Daejon Davis missing the game with a foot injury.
Washington’s bench came alive
Carter, Sam Timmins and Dominic Green went 7 of 13 from the field including 3 of 6 from beyond the arc. After the trio played poorly against Cal, they brought an energy on Sunday that allowed Washington to take advantage of Stanford’s lack of depth. Sheffield hit some big 3’s for Stanford but the rest of their bench went 0-6 from the field in 21 minutes.
Hameir Wright is a defensive ace too
In Washington’s first 16 Pac-12 games Wright had never played more than 19 minutes. He played 30 minutes against Stanford on Sunday finishing with 3 blocks and a steal. Thybulle is obviously an elite defensive player and will be missed next season but Wright’s athleticism and length in the middle of Mike Hopkins 2-3 zone should be a fixture a while longer.
Outlook: Even though the loss to Cal is a black mark, Washington has to feel good about going 7-2 in Pac-12 road games. For some perspective, the Washington team featuring Brandon Roy and Nate Robinson that earned a #1 seed to the NCAA tournament in 2004-2005 only went 5-4 in Pac-12 road games. The 2005-2006 team that also went to the Sweet 16 nearly upsetting UConn the following year was just 6-3 on the road. On to the player grades….
Wright – 7 – Wright continues to struggle from the field (1 of 5) but he hit a big 3-pointer in the second half and later two free throws to give Washington a lead. His defense was great and he had one of the underrated plays of the game when he drove to his left, saw Sharma who had just blocked his shot the previous possession and made a nifty handoff to Nowell who drove for a right handed layup.
Dickerson – 6 – Dickerson had a really poor first-half. He picked up three fouls, a technical and turned the ball over five times as Stanford did a nice job trapping him whenever he touched the ball inside. Dickerson struggled against the length of Sharma going just 3 of 9 from the field but he went 6 of 6 from the free throw line and didn’t turn the ball over in the second half as he started looking for outlets from the double-teams. He didn’t officially have any assist but he had several passes that led to assist.
Thybulle – 7 – Thybulle scored 8 points on 4 of 10 shooting. He had three steals including one with 40 seconds to go when Stanford was just down one. Thybulle had a modest road trip with a combined four steals and two blocks in two games but it just goes to show how high of a bar he has set for himself defensively.
Nowell – 8 – Nowell played only 24 minutes due to foul trouble but still finished with a team-high 13 points. He also grabbed 6 rebounds and cut down his turnovers from six on Thursday to just one on Sunday.
Crisp – 5 – Crisp was dreadful in the first-half (0-4) but was 2 for 4 in the second-half with a nifty reverse layup and 3-pointer that both reclaimed momentum after Stanford had just taken the lead.
Bey – 5 – Bey had a steal in six minutes and had a nice drive in which his defender appeared surprised by him making a strong move toward the hoop in which he was eventually blocked at the rim. As teams have a scouting report that Bey is not a threat with the ball in his hands, it’s important for him to keep them honest.
Carter – 8 – Carter looked like his old self with some aggressive drives and hitting a 3-pointer. He finished with 7 points in 16 minutes also grabbing three rebounds and dishing two assist.
Green – 7 – Green was shooting just 28% over the past 10 games but he was 2 of 4 from beyond the arc and even his misses looked good. His 6 points in 20 minutes were much needed.
Timmins – 6 – Timmins had a sloppy play when he made a poor handoff to Nowell that not only was a turnover but led to Nowell’s fourth foul in transition defense. Other than that he was really solid with 4 points and 2 rebounds in 11 minutes.
