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The Washington men’s basketball team received contributions from multiple players on Thanksgiving night as it defeated San Jose State 78-56 in the first game of the Wooden Legacy Tournament in Fullerton, Calif.
The Huskies jumped ahead to a 17-point halftime lead thanks to strong play by Nigel Williams-Goss, Robert Upshaw and Donaven Dorsey. Williams-Goss scored nine of his team-high 13 points before the break and Upshaw came off the bench and recorded six points and four blocks. Williams-Goss scored only four points in the second half but finished with eight assists and six rebounds.
Upshaw continued his dominance into the second half and finished with seven blocks, tying the school record for the third time in four games, 12 points and 5 rebounds. Upshaw was a man among boys the entire night, and for some reason the Spartans thought it was a good idea to keep driving into the paint when he was on the floor.
Dorsey provided the Huskies a spark from the outside, knocking down two of his five 3-pointers in the first half. He finished with a career high 17 points. The Huskies put together runs of 12-4 and 14-7 to build their early lead. The Spartans didn’t score their first basket until the 14:49 mark.
Quevyn Winters came off the bench to score eight points and grab give rebounds and Shawn Kemp Jr. tallied 11 points and five rebounds despite shooting 5-for-12 from the foul line. Mike Anderson took just two shots and scored four points, but grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Huskies shot 16-for-30 from the free throw line, 8-for-20 on 3-pointers and 27-for-57 from the field.
All three of the UW’s walk-ons, Dan Kingma, Greg Bowman and KJ Garrett, saw action for the Huskies as well as Jahmel Taylor. Taylor was the only one of the four to score, knocking down his only field goal for two points.
Rashad Muhammad, the younger brother of former UCLA star and current Minnesota Timberwolves forward Shabazz Muhammed, led the Spartans with a game-high 15 points.
The Huskies overpowered an outmatched San Jose State squad in the second half on way to their fourth victory of the season, and will face Long Beach State at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
Do you think the Huskies will win the Wooden Legacy Tournament after watching tonight's performance? Leave your answer and thoughts from the game in the comments section below.