News

Washington outlasts Washington State

Washington guard David Crisp (1), guard Matisse Thybulle (4), and head coach Mike Hopkins react after an NCAA college basketball game against UCLA, Saturday, Feb. 2, 2019, in Seattle. Washington won 69-55. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) Photo: Associated Press


PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) — Noah Dickerson tipped in a missed layup from Jaylen Nowell with 25 seconds remaining and Washington defeated rival Washington State 72-70 on Saturday night.

Dickerson scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Washington (20-5, 11-1 Pac-12). Nowell added 20 points.

“Dickerson has been big for us. He always has been. Guys have been doing a good job getting him the ball,” Washington coach Mike Hopkins said. “I thought in the first half they doubled and he would pass it out to get wide open 3s. You just have to trust it I know it is a little bit boring but sometimes boring is good.”

Marvin Cannon scored 25 points with eight rebounds for Washington State (10-15, 3-9). Robert Franks added 16 points.

Washington came out of the second half with a 7-0 run over 1:57 sparked by a jumper from Nowell. Dickerson added a layup and Hameir Wright knocked down a 3 completing the run and forcing the Cougars to call a time out.

Washington would go on a 13-3 run spanning five minutes after several layups from Dickerson and a 3-pointer from Dominic Green to tie the game at 54 with 9:57 remaining.

Franks knocked down a 3-pointer for WSU to take a 67-65 lead with 2:46 remaining. The Pac-12 leading scorer wasn’t a factor until late in the ball game.

“We made an adjustment to keep the ball out of the high post while guarding Franks, I thought that really helped,” Hopkins said. “They scored 45 points in the first half and they scored 25 in the second half and they hit three 3s with two minutes to go.”

Dickerson was fouled on the next possession making 1 of 2 free throws to cut the deficit to one. David Crisp then stole the ball, setting up the fast break and a 3-point play for Nowell that gave the Huskies the lead for good at 69-67.

Hopkins said experience and veteran leadership is how the Huskies pulled away with a victory in the closing minutes of the game.

“Our experience at the end really helped. I thought that was big,” coach Hopkins said. “We just had to calm down a little bit. We got down early and they were shooting the ball well. In the first half our energy levels just didn’t seem like they were there.”

The Huskies trailed most of the first half as WSU had all of the momentum in the early going.

Cannon dominated the first half for WSU with 18 points, throwing down crowd-energizing dunks and acrobatic layups.

Washington answered an 8-0 Cougar run at the 9:57 mark in the first half after Matisse Thybulle threw down two dunks underneath the rim and Nowell hit a 3-point jumper completing the 7-0 run for the Huskies over 1:53.

WSU fought back with a 10-0 run sealing momentum for the half. CJ Elleby started the run with a tough back door pass to Jeff Pollard for the layup and Pollard returned the favor on the next possession hitting Elleby for a fast-break layup and foul.

Elleby completed the 3-point play and Cannon was fouled on a 3-point attempt on the next possession knocking down all three free throws. Ahmed Ali finished the run with two made free throws.

“We tried to make some plays that we didn’t need to make,” Washington State coach Ernie Kent said. “We lengthened the game when we should have been focused on shortening the game. To their credit they just took advantage of our miscues.”

IN-STATE RIVALRY

Washington extended the all-time series lead to 185-104 over WSU as the Huskies swept the Cougars for the second season in a row under coach Hopkins.

“I love it,” Hopkins said. “I thought it was a great environment. I think the last time we played here the students might have been on break and it was really good to experience.”

BIG PICTURE

Washington: The Huskies handled business as expected, bouncing back after falling to Arizona State, their first Pac-12 loss of the season. The win against the Cougars comes at an important time since the Huskies are battling for the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Pac-12 tournament.

Washington State: After beating both Arizona and Arizona State for the first road sweep since the 2008-09 season, the Cougars disappointed late at home against their rivals. The loss to Washington cements the Cougars second-to-last placement in the conference.

Recent Headlines

5 hours ago in Sports

PWHL to reach national US TV audience with Scripps Sports to broadcast neutral site game in Detroit

The Professional Women's Hockey League is coming to a TV set near you in the United States. The league announced that its neutral-site game at Detroit on March 28 between the New York Sirens and Montreal Victoire will be the first accessible to a national U.S. television audience.

1 day ago in Sports

Bam! Heat’s Adebayo scores 83 points, 2nd only to Wilt Chamberlain in NBA history

Bam Adebayo had a night for all time on Tuesday, with a point total second to only Wilt Chamberlain in the NBA record books. Adebayo scored 83 points, setting league marks for free throws made and attempted in a game for the Miami Heat in a 150-129 win over the Washington Wizards.

1 day ago in Sports

Italy stuns the US 8-6 in World Baseball Classic, leaving the Americans needing help to advance

Kyle Teel, Sam Antonacci and Jac Caglianone homered as Italy built a big lead and held on to stun the United States 8-6 Tuesday night in the World Baseball Classic.

1 day ago in Sports

MLB report settles World Series Game 7 plate drama: IKF was out by feet, not inches

It was the most debated play of the year in Major League Baseball, perhaps the most dissected and discussed sequence in World Series history. Should Isiah Kiner-Falefa have taken a bigger lead? Why did the third base coach draw a line in the dirt right there? What if IKF sprinted to the plate instead of sliding?

2 days ago in Sports

Inside the numbers: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ties Wilt Chamberlain’s 20-point streak record

Wilt Chamberlain has some NBA records that might never get touched, like the 100-point game, 4,000 points in a season and a 50-point-per-game scoring average. And that means that when he does get caught — in any category — it's a big deal.