Portland forces UW to dig deep in second half
SEATTLE – Isaiah Thomas and Justin Holiday both scored 20 points, reserve Scott Suggs hit two key 3-pointers midway through the second half, and No. 21 Washington held off a strong challenge from Portland in a 94-72 nonconference men’s basketball victory Monday night.
For the first time this season the Huskies were challenged at home in the second half, watching Portland trim a 16-point deficit to six with 8:25 remaining.
But Suggs answered with a 3-pointer to start an 11-0 run. Suggs added another 3 after Matthew Bryan-Amaning dived to keep a loose ball alive and Bryan-Amaning punctuated the run with a fastbreak dunk.
Bryan-Amaning added 15 points for Washington (6-2).
Nemanja Mitrovic led Portland (7-3) with 15 points, all on 3-pointers.
The rare Monday night game created a mellow atmosphere at normally buzzing Hec Edmundson Pavilion, but that didn’t slow down the Huskies’ scoring pace much. Washington, the highest scoring and best 3-point shooting team in the country, hadn’t scored less than 98 points in any of its previous four home games this season – all blowouts decided early in the second half.
(21) Washington 94, Portland 72
Portland (7-3) — Sikma 7-10 0-2 14, Knutson 2-3 2-4 6, Waterford 1-5 0-0 3, Stohl 5-14 0-0 12, Mitrovic 5-12 0-0 15, Riley 0-0 0-0 0, Douglas 4-9 4-5 12, Barker 1-1 0-0 2, Rodgers 2-4 4-5 8, Thieleke 0-2 0-0 0, Nicholas 0-0 0-0 0, Hannibal 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-61 10-16 72.
Washington (6-2) — Holiday 5-7 7-8 20, Gant 1-2 0-0 3, N’Diaye 1-3 0-0 2, Gaddy 3-6 0-0 8, Thomas 7-13 5-9 20, Overton 1-3 0-0 2, Hosley 0-1 0-0 0, Bryan-Amaning 5-7 5-8 15, Suggs 4-7 2-2 13, Wilcox 2-5 0-0 6, Ross 2-3 0-0 5, Sherrer 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 31-58 19-27 94. Halftime—Washington 46-31. 3-Point Goals—Portland 8-25 (Mitrovic 5-10, Stohl 2-8, Waterford 1-3, Thieleke 0-2, Douglas 0-2), Washington 13-23 (Holiday 3-4, Suggs 3-6, Gaddy 2-3, Wilcox 2-4, Ross 1-1, Gant 1-1, Thomas 1-2, Overton 0-1, Hosley 0-1). Fouled Out—Douglas. Rebounds—Portland 32 (Sikma 16), Washington 36 (Thomas 7). Assists—Portland 12 (Waterford 4), Washington 20 (Gaddy 6). Total Fouls—Portland 23, Washington 16. A—9,425.