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The Washington Huskies defeated the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 86-47 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada Friday night. It was the first game of the Global Sports Classic.
The Huskies defeated the Hilltoppers despite an off night from Markelle Fultz. Fultz went 1-12 from the field with just 3 points into the second half. He ended up 3-14 from the field but he contributed in other ways and almost ended up with a triple-double with 9 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds.
The Huskies saw contributions in the first half from Carlos Johnson and Matthew Atewe as both saw more time than in the preceding 4 games. Johnson ended up with 8 points and Atewe had 6 points and 7 rebounds.
The Huskies forced WKU turnovers in the first half but poor shooting and their own turnovers caused the game to be closer than it really was as the Dawgs led 39-31 at the break.
UW extended their lead and clamped down on WKU as the Hilltoppers went almost 8 minutes without scoring in the second half. They held WKU to just 25.4% shooting from the field. The Huskies pulled away midway through the second half and led by as much as 40.
Other good news from the stat sheet is that the Huskies forced 15 WKU turnovers and won the rebounding battle 60-46. They also shot 40.9% from 3 while limiting Western Kentucky to 18.8%.
Dominic Green had one of his best games as a Husky with 20 points (4-6 from 3pt range), 6 rebounds, 3 blocks and 1 dustup with the WKU bench at the end of the first half. Malik Dime also had a solid game with 13 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocks. Sam Timmins also had a great game with 12 rebounds and 5 points.
The chippiness of the game continued in the second half as Noah Dickerson had some words for the WKU after a hard foul.
The Hilltoppers were led by former WSU Cougar, Que Johnson, who scored 12 points on 3-12 shooting from the field.
The Huskies improve to 4-1 on the season while Western Kentucky falls to 3-2.
The game was online at campusinsiders.com. The Huskies will play the winner of the TCU-UNLV which happens later tonight in Vegas. The game will be live-streamed once again Saturday night. A start time has not been announced.
Overall a great day to be a Husky. First the Apple Cup, then the men’s team wins and now you have the night for Gilmore Girls on Netflix. What a time to be alive.