Back on track

SEATTLE – The first sign that this would be a different University of Washington men’s basketball team came in the second minute of Saturday night’s game, when an Isaiah Thomas 3-point try clanged off the rim, bounced high off the backboard and fell through the hoop.

Four minutes later, when UW’s Venoy Overton converted one of his trademark half-court steals into a fastbreak layup, the Huskies had already pulled out to a 16-2 lead on the visitors from the University of Portland.

By halftime, that lead had swelled to 30.

The same team that lost to Portland last November and was coming off the most humiliating defeat of the 2009-10 season was back on track in a big way. UW’s convincing 89-54 non-conference win over Portland avenged last year’s loss to the Pilots and made the Dec. 12 game against Georgetown look like a mere bump in the road.

“We were all a little unhappy” after the eight-point loss to Georgetown, UW senior Quincy Pondexter said. “We felt like we were a disappointment to ourselves, to our fans, and to the entire (Pac-10) conference. We really wanted to come out and prove how good we are.”

After losing a season-high 25 turnovers against Georgetown, UW (7-2) took care of the ball like it was a newborn infant.

During a first half that saw the 24th-ranked Huskies hold a double-digit lead for the final 10 minutes, UW had just two turnovers as compared to 11 assists. The Huskies’ first turnover came 7 minutes into the game.

By halftime, the Huskies were ahead 47-17 and looking like a Top 25 team again.

The streaky-shooting Thomas hit his first 3-pointers on the way to 12 first-half points, while UW won the turnover battle 12-2 over the first 20 minutes.

The red-hot Huskies hit 6 of 10 shots from 3-point range in the first half, while Portland was 0 for 5 from beyond the arc.

Portland (6-4) hit just 4 of 15 shots in the first half, scoring more than half its points – nine – from the free-throw line.

“There was a lot of motivation to come out play as hard as we can,” Pondexter said. “Not necessarily just because of the Georgetown game, but because we really remember last year’s game (with Portland). … (The Pilots) didn’t talk too much. They were a little quiet. That was uncharacteristic of a couple of those guys.”

Portland was led by Nik Raivio, who had 13 points to be the only Pilots player in double figures.

The Pilots were ranked 25th in the country earlier this month but have now lost four of their past five games.

(24) UW 89, Portland 54

 Portland (6-4)- Niedermeyer 1-6 4-4 7, Smeulders 1-7 4-4 6, Knutson 4-4 1-2 9, Raivio 2-9 9-15 13, Campbell 2-5 0-0 5, Ito 1-2 2-4 5, Mivshek 0-0 0-0 0, Stohl 0-2 0-0 0, Mitrovic 0-1 0-0 0, Sikma 4-8 1-2 9, Hannibal 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-44 21-31 54.

Washington (7-2)- Bryan-Amaning 3-7 1-2 7, Gant 2-3 0-0 4, Thomas 4-7 5-6 16, Gaddy 0-1 0-0 0, Pondexter 8-13 0-2 17, Overton 4-7 3-4 11, Trent 2-2 0-0 4, Suggs 5-8 0-0 13, Holiday 1-5 3-3 5, Turner 3-6 0-0 7, Breshers 2-3 1-2 5, Sherrer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-62 13-19 89.

Halftime—Washington 47-17. 3-Point Goals—Portland 3-13 (Ito 1-1, Campbell 1-2, Niedermeyer 1-6, Stohl 0-2, Raivio 0-2), Washington 8-14 (Thomas 3-4, Suggs 3-6, Pondexter 1-1, Turner 1-2, Holiday 0-1). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Portland 27 (Raivio 7), Washington 36 (Bryan-Amaning, Holiday 7). Assists—Portland 11 (Campbell 5), Washington 20 (Thomas 8). Total Fouls—Portland 13, Washington 24. A—9,275.