Washington snaps 9-game losing streak, pummels California 87-52

SEATTLE – Nahziah Carter scored 16 points, Isaiah Stewart had 15 and Washington snapped a nine-game losing streak with an 87-52 win over Cal on Saturday.

The Huskies (13-15, 3-12 Pac-12) held the Golden Bears (11-16, 5-9) without a field goal for more than 15 minutes during a stretch spanning halftime to take the victory. Washington forced 17 turnovers, and held Cal to 11 field goals and 24% shooting in a game that showed the team’s athletic promise.

The Huskies started the season with a win over No. 1 Baylor and were ranked at one point.

But after losing 11 of their last 12, they were stuck in a repetitive cycle of second-half fades and long scoring droughts. Enter Cal, which had lost four straight before a win at Washington State on Thursday night.

The Bears appeared to be pulling away when D.J. Thorpe slammed home a dunk for a 17-11 lead, Cal’s biggest of the game, with 11:33 left in the first half.

From there, things turned disastrous for the Bears. Washington held Cal without a field goal the rest of the half, outscoring the Bears 32-9 for a 43-26 lead. Cal finished the half by missing 14 of 15 field goals, including 12 straight, and had 10 turnovers in the first 20 minutes, including five in a span of 4:14 that helped start Washington’s run.

Several Huskies contributed to the dominant finish to the half. McDaniels had eight points over the final 10 minutes. He also blocked a shot into the crowd that fired up his team and helped set up two consecutive Cal possessions with shot clock violations.

Wright hit 3 of 4 3-point attempts during the stretch, Stewart scored on a grind-it-out play in the paint and Carter dunked home a putback of a Carter miss, giving Washington the lead for good, 21-20 with 6 minutes to play.

Marcus Tsohonis hit three straight 3s to start the second half, a 1-2-3 punch that took the fight out of Cal. The Bears finally ended the long field-goal drought when Grant Anticevich hit a short jumper, making it 54-28 with 16:20 left. In all, they went 15:23 between field goals.

The Bears were led by Matt Bradley’s 14. McDaniels finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists for Washington and Tsohonis scored 11.