Jaylen Nowell scored 20 points and Washington overcame a sluggish first half to avoid their first losing streak this season with a 72-70 win over Washington State at Friel Court.
“It means we can bounce back,” Nowell told the ESPN crew after the game when asked what the win means for Washington’s season.
It didn’t look like they would at first as Washington struggled to defend the interior for the second week in a row, the Cougar’s 45 first-half points were the most Washington has allowed in a game since November 9th, 2018 against Auburn.
Just seven minutes into the game Isaiah Wade beat down the Huskies down court for a dunk that made it 22-13 Washington State. After Washington missed a layup and committed a foul on the defensive end, an irate Mike Hopkins literally subbed out all five of his players in an attempt to send a message to his team.
It worked, the Huskies answered with a 7-0 run capped by Jaylen Nowell’s 3-pointer that cut the Cougars lead to four at 20-24. The Cougars answered with a 10-0 run themselves to take what would be their biggest lead of the night at 34-20.
The Cougars led 45-36 at halftime but Washington kept chipping away., Hameir Wright hit a 3-pointer with 16:01 to go in the second half that cut the Cougars lead to 47-43. The Huskies would tie it at 54 when Dickerson found an open Dominic Green for an three. Nowell broke the tie on the Huskies next possession banking a runner to put the Huskies up 56-54 capping a 9-0 run.
After the teams traded baskets, the Cougars took advantage of a Naz Carter errant pass to grab the lead back with Robert Franks 3-pointer giving his team a 67-65 lead with 2:48 to go. It was short-lived as Washington would hold the Cougars scoreless for the next 2:47.
Dickerson split a pair of free throws and on the ensuing Cougar possession Franks lost the ball leading to an outlet pass to Nowell. Nowell took the ball to the rim and was fouled later finishing the three-point play at line with 1:21 to go, 69-67 Washington.
Washington got another stop and Dickerson would stick the dagger. When Nowell missed a contested layup between two defenders, Dickerson followed with a one-hand tip-in to put the Huskies up 71-67 with 24.9 seconds to go.
Nowell split a pair of free throws to put Washington up 5 and while Franks hit a 3-pointer with .9 that cut the lead to 2. The Huskies were able to inbound the ball and run out the clock giving Washington their 20th win of the season and a season sweep of the Cougars.
Keys to the game
The Huskies took away the Cougars #1 and #2 options
Robert Franks came into the game the reigning Pac-12 and NCAA Player of the Week after averaging 32.5 ppg and 10.5 rpg in Arizona last week. The Huskies did a nice job closing out Franks in the first half holding him without a 3-point attempt and to just 4 points. He started to get hot in the 2nd half going 4 of 5 from beyond the arc but his turnover with hsi team up one led to Nowell’s go-ahead basket. Franks finished with 16 points which is well below his season average of 22.
Second leading scorer CJ Elleby came in averaging over 15 points a game and had 26 points and 10 rebounds in the first meeting between the teams. He was also held well below his average scoring just 5 points and he had a crucial airball with about 8 seconds left in the game and WSU down 4. Elleby and Franks both turned the ball over 5 times.
Washington’s Defensive Adjustments
Washington was so focused on stopping Franks and Elleby they let Marvin Cannon take over the game in the first half. Of the Cougars 45 first-half points, Cannon had 18 of them hitting two 3-pointers and catching backdoor lobs for dunks.
In the first half the Cougars were getting the ball inside to the tune of 18 points in the paint but Washington tightened it’s zone and started forcing the Cougars to settle for outside shots. The Cougars had just 4 points in the paint the final 20 minutes.
Washington held the Cougars to a feeble 25 points in the 2nd half, they shot 59% in the first half but just 36% in the second. The Cougars came into the game averaging just 12.9 turnovers per game but finished with 19.
Crunch Time Clutch
This game was very similar to the Arizona State loss in many ways. The home team played with more energy, the Huskies couldn’t defend the paint and the Huskies gave up a bunch of offensive rebounds (8) in the first half.
The difference was in how Washington finished, they took a reasonable number of 3-pointers (10 each half) and they got defensive stops unlike a week ago. Their offense is always going to be a work in progress but you give your offense time to figure itself out when you play good defense.
Nowell was the leading scorer but the Cougars truly had no answer for Dickerson who finished with 18 points on 7 of 8 shooting and 10 rebounds. His tip-in on Nowell’s missed runner was all effort.
Outlook: Some will suggest the Huskies looked vulnerable on their road trip but 2 out of 3 aint’ bad. The Huskies now have 4 of their final 6 games at home heading into the Pac-12 tournament and have reached 20 wins in 25 games for the first time since the 2005-2006 team led by Brandon Roy that would go on to the Sweet 16. On to the grades…
Wright – 7 – Some rust was to be expected considering Wright missed the past two games with flu-like symptoms. In the first-half he made a poor cross-court pass that led to a WSU dunk and on another occasion got caught napping on a backdoor lob. Wright played better as he got more run hitting two 3-pointers, grabbing 2 rebounds to go with 2 assist, a steal and a block in 15 minutes. Wright’s athleticism was sorely missed.
Dickerson – 10 – Dickerson may have finished a perfect 7 for 7 if a deserved foul had been called on his one miss. The Cougars didn’t have anyone down low who could handle him. Washington was -11 for the four minutes Dickerson was not on the court, they were +13 with him on it.
Thybulle – 7 – Not his best shooting night (4 of 11, 1 of 5 from 3) but Thybulle stood out defensively with 5 steals. He only had two turnovers (bad passes) after three consecutive games with at least four so that was encouraging.
Nowell – 9 – Nowell played a really solid game and saved his best for last. He and Dickerson were the only Huskies to score the final 5 minutes. Nowell was an efficient 8 of 16 from the field and 2 of 4 from beyond the arc.
Crisp – 6.5 – Crisp is said to be dealing with a shoulder injury and his shooting struggles continue (3 of 12, 2 of 6 from beyond the arc). I still give him a lot of credit, after missing 8 of his first 9 shots he was much more selective, making a few big ones down the stretch and he added 3 steals.
Carter – 5 – was active in 20 minutes with 4 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assist but he had 3 turnovers. The one that could have really hurt his team was an inexplicable no-look pass out of a double team that Cannon stole for the Cougars. It led to Frank’s 3-pointer that gave the Cougars a lead inside of 3 minutes. The Dawgs got away with it tonight but in March the margin for error is known to shrink.
Green – 5 – Green was quiet in 22 minutes going 1 for 3 from the field and hitting a 3-pointer. He had just 3 points and continues to struggle from the field.
Timmins – NR – Timmins played just three minutes the odd-man out with Wright returning to the rotation but he made his time count. He scored back to back baskets on the Huskies final possessions of the first half, with a nifty lay-in on a drive from Carter and a put back the next time down the court.
Bey and E. Hardy – NR – The two freshman guards were apart of the mass exodus when Hopkins benched all five players on the court. The Huskies were -6 in Hardy’s one minute of play and -7 in Bey’s 3.
