Huskies get season started with win over S.C. State

SEATTLE — Shawn Kemp, Jr. and Robert Upshaw were simply too big and too tall for South Carolina State. The Washington big men led the Huskies to a 77-59 win on Friday night in the season opener for both teams. Kemp, a 6-foot-9 senior, scored 17 points — one off a career high — on 8 of 13 shooting to lead the Huskies along with six rebounds, five of them on the offensive end. Seven-footer Upshaw tied a school record with seven blocked shots along with 14 points and six rebounds off the bench for Washington. “You can’t do much about size,” South Carolina State Murray Garvin said. “I couldn’t make my guys grow right there during the game.” Kemp had a couple dunks that drew cheers, but Upshaw proved to be the real fan favorite with his array of blocked shots and a few dunks of his own. “It’s fun to watch a guy go out, and when the ball’s up at the top of its height, to go up and get it that way,” UW coach Lorenzo Romar said. “You just don’t see it very often, and it’s something to behold.” While Kemp and Upshaw were working inside, guard Nigel Williams-Goss had a double-double from the perimeter with 10 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. Romar said only a few mishandled passes kept Williams-Goss from also getting double-digit assists. “My goal every time I step on the floor is to get a triple-double, because to do that, it’s just an energy thing,” Williams-Goss said. “I call it triple-double energy. If you have that energy, usually good things will happen.” Andrew Andrews added 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Huskies. The Huskies have now won six season openers in a row and 12 consecutive times when opening the season at home. Karon Wright led South Carolina State with 14 points, and Greg Mortimer scored 10. Jalen White, the Bulldogs leading returning scorer, scored eight points but limped off with what Garvin said were cramps after hitting a 3-pointer with about 7 minutes to play and did not return. Washington led the entire game. The Huskies went on a 12-0 run late in the first half and led 39-23 at halftime. Less than four minutes into the second half they were ahead 52-28, their largest lead of the game. Both teams had issues with accuracy at times. South Carolina State shot 33 percent (24 of 73) from the field and 6 of 13 at the free throw line. The Huskies had their own struggles, going 10 for 17 on free throws and 3 for 21 from the 3-point line. “We know we’ll shoot better than this,” Williams-Goss said. “The gym was extremely cold, and I think that might have a little bit of an effect on people’s shots.”

Tip-ins

South Carolina State: The Bulldogs started 1 for 7 from the field as they fell behind 12-2. The Bulldogs did pull within three — 20-17 — with 81/2 minutes to play in the first half before Washington went on their 12-0 run to really pull ahead. Washington: Upshaw played in his first game for UW — he sat out last year after transferring from Fresno State. The sophomore came off the bench in the first half and quickly got the crowd’s attention with a big block. He earned cheers again in the second half with dunks on two straight possessions. “When he came in and started getting those blocks and getting some alley-oops, fans started getting into the game,” Kemp said. “That’s what we like to see.”