Balance gives Washington win at Tulane 73-62

NEW ORLEANS – C.J. Wilcox scored 15 points to lead four players in double figures and Washington overcame an overall sloppy performance to escape with a 73-62 win at Tulane on Tuesday night.

Balance, and 56 percent shooting in the first half, made the difference for the Huskies (6-4). Nigel Williams-Goss and Perris Blackwell added 12 points and Mike Anderson had 10.

Wilcox moved past the 1,500-point plateau and into 11th on the UW scoring list despite his lowest-scoring game of the season.

“We did a good job on defense early then kind of relaxed,” Wilcox said. “We got in foul trouble and they took advantage. We came out a little flat in the second half and they stayed close.”

Freshman Jonathan Stark matched his career high with 25 points, 17 in the first half when he kept Tulane (5-6) in the game. Louis Dabney added 16. Jay Hook, who had 31 points in the last game with a school record eight 3-pointers, was held to eight, just two in the second half and that was the only 3 for the Green Wave in 14 attempts.

“Credit Washington,” Tulane coach Ed Conroy said. “Defensively their athleticism on the perimeter and their quickness closed down gaps and made it hard for us to beat them from three.”

Tulane scored the first basket but then proceeded to shoot 32 percent in the first half, including a 1-for-9 performance from 3-point range and 13 of 21 from the foul line.

Despite battling foul problems and turnovers the Huskies grabbed a 41-32 lead when Wilcox dropped a half-court buzzer beater. That made UW 6 of 12 from behind the arc at the break.