It’s hard to win a basketball game when you only make 4 out of 24 attempts from behind the three point line. Unfortunately for the Washington Huskies, that’s exactly what happened tonight, leading to their ninth straight loss.
The final score doesn’t accurately portray how close the first 30 minutes of this game was. During that span, neither team led by more than 4 points. The first half was a seesaw of changing leads and ties between the two teams. Despite their lack of three pointers, the Huskies still managed to make nearly 44% of their field goals and went 7/7 from the charity stripe to score a respectable 37 points in the first half and take a two-point lead into the break.
It is interesting to note that in an otherwise free-flowing game where the referees were staying relatively quiet, Jaden McDaniels missed a significant chunk of the game after picking up three fouls in the first half and a fourth early in the second half, ultimately limiting the talented freshman to just 6 points on the night. Four Huskies did score in double digits, including Isiah Stewart with a team leading 14 points to go along with 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 blocks. During this game, Stewart actually broke the Washington record for most rebounds in a season by a freshman.
@Dreamville_33 now also holds the freshman single season rebound record for Washington with 2⃣3⃣5⃣ and counting.#TougherTogether pic.twitter.com/TsBnWWPap5
— Washington Men's Basketball (@UW_MBB) February 21, 2020
Marcus Tsohonis scored 11 points, while RaeQuan Battle and Nahziah Carter each scored 10 points, with the latter adding 9 rebounds. Other notable Husky contributors include Jamal Bey with 9 points and and 8 rebounds, as well as an unlikely hero in the senior big man Sam Timmins. While he only scored 4 points in the game, Timmins added 6 boards and 2 assists along with a steal in his 17 minutes of playing time. But what made his contribution notable was perhaps his two highlights, which may be the only worthwhile highlights to speak of for Washington in this game. I exaggerate slightly here, as there were a series of thrilling dunks from the obvious candidates of Carter and Stewart, but see below for the details on Timmins.
SAM TIMMINS BEHIND THE BACK#TougherTogether
— Washington Men's Basketball (@UW_MBB) February 21, 2020
@Pac12Network pic.twitter.com/K7dBuDJO4Y
Timmins#TougherTogether
— Washington Men's Basketball (@UW_MBB) February 21, 2020
@Pac12Network pic.twitter.com/E5e7pB0Gui
When you’re on a losing streak like this one, you have to take solace in some of the small victories that are handed to you. Watching the senior from New Zealand make some shockingly athletic moves and show flashes like this are something to hang your hat on. But if that doesn’t do it for you and you need more thrills, here are the previously mentioned dunks from Carter and Stewart.
Right before halftime, this happened...#TougherTogether
— Washington Men's Basketball (@UW_MBB) February 21, 2020
@Pac12Network pic.twitter.com/wcfsATXLkD
RAISE THE ROOF #TougherTogether x @Dreamville_33
— Washington Men's Basketball (@UW_MBB) February 21, 2020
@Pac12Network pic.twitter.com/zuAzJ2y8DZ
But I digress, despite this fun series of dunks, the Huskies did in fact lose this basketball game. I’m sure at this point you can all write the script from memory, but with roughly 10 minutes to go in the half, Stanford found themselves on an 11-2 run. In fact, Stanford held Washington scoreless for 5:10, then following two UW free throws, they held the Huskies scoreless for another 4:21. Another several minute scoring stretch followed after those two, during which Washington shot a combined 1-17 from the floor. There is a long list of reasons why the Huskies have been continuously falling apart offensively late in their games (including poor guard play, poor ball movement, and poor shooting just to name a few), and this game was no different.
Washington is now 12-15 on the season and 2-12 in conference play, which keeps them in last place in the conference. Next up for the Dawgs is a home game against the Cal Bears on Saturday.