Huskies put on Coug suit

PULLMAN – If you haven’t been able to beat them, then you might as well emulate them.

At least that seemed to be the University of Washington’s motto Saturday during the Huskies’ 68-48, Pac-10-opening men’s basketball win over Washington State, shattering UW’s seven-game losing streak in this rivalry.

The Huskies flew around on defense, forcing tough shots and pounding the Cougars on the glass, 36-20.

And, most important, they were patient on offense, getting sound guard play, sharing the ball, passing up decent shots for better ones and finally, in the second half, breaking down the Cougars’ defense.

“It was on the board before the game: Be patient, work the ball and get a good shot,” said UW senior Jon Brockman, who won in Pullman for the first time despite being limited to 10 points and four rebounds. “For the most part, besides a couple real quick, ill-advised shots, we did a great job of working it and finding the open man.”

Now who does that sound like?

“They’ve learned from playing us,” WSU point guard Taylor Rochestie said.

The lessons of years past all came together in a game-deciding spurt right after halftime.

The Huskies (10-3) had gone into the locker room with a 30-28 lead, courtesy of two late Quincy Pondexter free throws.

Rochestie, who broke out of a shooting slump by hitting 6 of 11 shots for a team-high 12 points, lofted a floater over Darrell Gant 17 seconds into the second half to tie it. The sparse crowd of 8,107 at Beasley Coliseum, sans students who are on semester break, actually seemed energized.

But it was an illusion.

The Huskies scored on four consecutive possessions in four different ways – a 3-pointer by freshman Isaiah Thomas, who led all scorers with 19, a post move from Pondexter, Brockman’s 17-foot jumper and Justin Dentmon’s fast-break layup.

“A lot of Washington State basketball is about getting motivated and getting pumped up on the defensive end,” said Rochestie, who had two of WSU’s four assists and four of its 14 turnovers. “When you’re not getting stops, and you’re a defensive team, that plays a role offensively.

“When we’re getting gritty and getting stops defensively, it fires up our offense and we start breaking teams down.”

UW did exactly that.

It showed inside, where the Huskies forced the ball away from center Aron Baynes by double-teaming WSU’s leading scorer, limiting the 6-foot-10 senior post to six shots, though he finished with 11 points.

“We knew we needed to get the ball out of his hands,” Brockman said. “We have some quick, long athletes on our team and by making them throw those rushed passes, our guys were able to … make plays on the ball.”

And it showed outside, when WSU (8-5) tried to attack off the dribble early in the second half. That played into UW’s defensive game plan – and away from the Cougars’ strength.

“I think it was real similar to what they’ve done in the past,” Caleb Forrest said of a Husky defense that limited WSU to 36 percent shooting in the second half and 2 of 10 from beyond the arc for the night. UW shot 48 percent from the floor against the nation’s best field-goal percentage defensive team, including 6 of 11 on 3-pointers.

“The big difference is we don’t have the same guys as last year who can create for themselves,” Forrest said, alluding to Derrick Low and Kyle Weaver, graduated seniors who had a big part in the seven-game winning streak. “We have to start to do things together more as a team and I don’t think we’ve done that as well as we’re capable of yet.”

Trailing by nine with 17 minutes left, WSU tried to crawl back, finally pulling within five (46-41) on a Rochestie drive.

But Nik Koprivica and Klay Thompson collided on defense, freeing Dentmon for 3 – he was perfect on four long-range attempts en route to 17 points, a high for him against WSU.

When Rochestie’s ensuing turnover turned into a Gant follow dunk of Pondexter’s miss – one of only three the junior had – the Huskies led by 10 and even WSU coach Tony Bennett knew there was no coming back.

“When those bad stretches come, it’s kind of like when it rains, it pours, and a lot of things go wrong,” Bennett said. “We’re not capable of withstanding those types of runs when teams put them (together) against us.”

Washington 68, WSU 48

Percentages: FG .481, FT .857. 3-Point Goals: 6-11, .545 (Dentmon 4-4, Thomas 2-6, Overton 0-1). Team Rebounds: 36. Blocked Shots: 2 (Bryan-Amaning, Pondexter). Turnovers: 11 (Bryan-Amaning 3, Thomas 3, Brockman 2, Gant, Holiday, Overton). Steals: 7 (Dentmon 3, Bryan-Amaning 2, Overton, Thomas). Technical Fouls: Gant.

Percentages: FG .413, FT .889. 3-Point Goals: 2-10, .200 (Thompson 2-5, Rochestie 0-3, Harmeling 0-1, Koprivica 0-1). Team Rebounds: 20. Blocked Shots: 7 (Casto 2, Forrest 2, Thompson 2, Baynes). Turnovers: 14 (Rochestie 4, Thompson 4, Baynes 2, Koprivica 2, Forrest). Steals: 5 (Thompson 3, Koprivica 2). Technical Fouls: Forrest.

Halftime–Washington 30, WSU 28. A–8,107.