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Jaylen Nowell leads four players in double figures as Washington remains unbeaten in Pac-12

Washington’s Jaylen Nowell shoots and scores as Stanford’s Josh Sharma defends during the first half Thursday in Seattle. (Elaine Thompson / AP)
Associated Press

SEATTLE – Jaylen Nowell scored 22 points, Nahziah Carter made 6 of 7 shots and added 13 points off the bench and Washington won its sixth straight game, 80-64 over Stanford on Thursday night in Pac-12 men’s basketball action.

The Huskies (13-4, 4-0 Pac-12) remained perfect early in conference play thanks to a big first half by Nowell and a lift off the bench from Carter, Washington’s improving sophomore wing. Nowell had 14 points in the first half, while Carter had 11 points in the final 20 minutes.

Washington had four players in double figures as Dominic Green had 11 points and David Crisp scored 10. Noah Dickerson, Washington’s second-leading scorer, had early foul trouble and finished with three points in 11 minutes.

KZ Okpala led Stanford (8-9, 1-4) with 22 points and Josh Sharma added 17. Okpala, the second-leading scorer in the Pac-12, had a troublesome first half trying to figure out Washington’s zone defense, but rallied to score 18 in the second half.

Coming off its first road sweep in conference play in six years, Washington continued to strengthen its case it may be the best team in a season when the Pac-12 as a whole is down. The play of Nowell remained a big reason. The sophomore made 9 of 19 shots, finding midrange openings in Stanford’s defense and knocking down a couple of important 3s in the first half.

Washington led by as many as 16 early in the second half, but a scoring drought allowed the Cardinal to cut the deficit to single digits on Okpala’s driving basket with 10:16 left. Green finally snapped Washington’s skid without a field goal, hitting his third 3-pointer, pushing the Huskies’ lead back to 12. Carter added a baseline dunk and Washington had a 58-44 lead with 8 minutes remaining.

Okpala, the sophomore drawing NBA interest, had a forgettable first half, hitting 1 of 6 shots and picking up a technical foul, scoring four points. His second half was why NBA teams have interest in the 6-foot-9 forward with a mix of midrange jumpers and driving baskets.

The Huskies scored 24 points off Stanford turnovers and outscored the Cardinal 32-10 in bench points.

While Carter and Green provided the biggest lifts, Washington also got a boost from Sam Timmins, who played a season-high 22 minutes.