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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Washington men clamp down on defense to handle Oregon State

Percy Allen Seattle Times

Keyon Menifield and Koren Johnson crouched low with their arms spread wide at the top of the three-point arc waiting to pounce on the Beaver ball handlers.

The freshman duo comprised the first line of defense for the Washington men’s basketball team that swarmed, smothered and suffocated a hapless Oregon State into 18 turnovers and 2-for-19 shooting on three-pointers.

Turns out the Huskies were equally sloppy with the ball while committing 17 turnovers, but they were a little better behind the arc (6 for 23), which proved to be the difference in their 61-47 victory on Saturday night.

Jamal Bey, who canned three three-pointers, led Washington with 15 points. Keyon Menifield finished with 12 points and eight assists while Braxton Meah had 12 points and 11 rebounds for UW (15-13, 7-10 Pac-12).

Keion Brooks Jr. and Johnson, who had five steals, each had 11 points.

It was the fewest points this season for a UW opponent.

After a sloppy first half in which both teams combined for more turnovers (25) than field goals (17), Washington led 26-18 at the break.

Meah flushed a dunk over Beavers big man Michael Ratah, which capped a 7-0 run early in the second half gave the Huskies a 33-20 lead with 16:26 left.

Oregon State cut into its deficit and pulled to within single digits, but after a couple of Brooks-to-Meah alley-oop dunks and Johnson’s three-pointer, the Huskies went up 42-27 with 12:02 remaining.

The Beavers made one last run and used a 13-4 spurt to close the gap to 46-40.

However, Washington pushed back and outscored Oregon State 15-7 the rest of the way, including a 13-1 in the final minutes.