UW vs. Florida hoops game thread
Published 7:01 pm Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Florida wins 86-84
Nice comeback for the Huskies, who trailed 81-71 at one point in the second half, but it wasn’t quite enough. Washington was down three with the ball after Florida made one of two free throws, and the Gators fouled Isaiah Thomas on purpose with 2.5 seconds left to keep the Huskies from getting off an attempt at the tying shot. Thomas made the first, then intentionally missed the second. Jon Brockman got the rebound, but was falling away from the basket and had to throw up an off-balanced shot, which missed.
Like so many games last year, this was one Washington might have won had it simply made more free throws. The Huskies were just 11 of 19 in this one.
Brockman finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds to lead Washington. Isaiah Thomas had a big game with 17 points and nine rebounds.
Oops
Darnell Gant just picked up a not-so-smart foul away from the basket to send Florida to the line with a one point lead and 22 seconds left on the clock. Looks like we’re heading for an exciting finish, but Washington has an uphill battle.
Missed the first, made the second, two point lead for Florida. The Huskies will call a timeout with 17 seconds left after bringing the ball past midcourt.
Tie game
Jon Brockman just knocked down a pair of free throws and the game is now tied at 81 with 1:08 left. Florida has the ball and just called a time out. That’s a 10-0 run for the Huskies now.
Lead is down to two
Isaiah Thomas has scored six of the Huskies last eight points in an 8-0 run, and assisted on the other basket, and Washington now trails by only two, 81-79 with 1:56 left in the game. Thomas has 14 points, nine rebounds and just two turnovers.
Florida’s lead up to 10
So much for the Huskies closing the gap. Florida is now up 81-71 with a little over four minutes to play. A real bad stat for the Huskies today: they’re just four for 11 on free throws so far today.
Jon Brockman is having a good second half and is now up to 20 points.
Huskies within three
After an Isaiah Thomas block (no, really), Darnell Gant got a bucket on the other end to cut Florida’s lead to three with six and a half minuts left. Should be interesting now to see if the Huskies can close the gap all the way and tie this.
Huskies trying to hang around
Florida keeps coming close to putting this game out of reach, but every time the Gators get the lead to eight or nine, the Huskies manage to battle back. At some point, however, Washington is going to need to go on a run to make it closer, and right now the Huskies just aren’t playing good enough defense, especially inside, for that to happen. Way too many easy layups for the Gators right now.
It’s 65-58 Florida with 10:37 left in the game.
Florida still up five
Elston Turner just nailed a three for the Huskies to make it 53-48 early in the second half. That was a big shot for the Huskies, as Florida was on a little run and looked like they might be poised to pull away with a big lead. Turner’s three followed a Florida miss on an open three, which would have put the Huskies down 11 had it gone down.
Florida 42, Washington 37 at the half
Washington was down seven after a a 10-0 Florida run, but at least got a nice finish to the half thanks to a Justin Holiday steal and dunk.
Justin Dentmon leads Washington with 14 points at the half, and is four for four on 3-point attempts. Jon Brockman has six points and three rebounds having played limited minutes that half after getting his second foul.
Florida up two
The Gators now have a 37-35 lead with two minutes left in the half, and the Huskies are suddenly getting sloppy with the ball. Hey, and there’s another turnover and a Florida three, making it a five-point game. It’s now an 8-0 run for the Gators.
One good note for the Huskies, they’re five of eight on threes so far after going seven for 21 yesterday.
Huskies by one
Florida is heating up a bit, and hit back-to-back threes to take a one-point lead, but Washington got it right back on a Jon Brockman layup. It’s worth noting that Washington has nine assists already, including five for Isaiah Thomas. The Huskies had just eight in the entire game yesterday. Please excuse the lack of posts in the next few minutes, as my sandwich just showed up.
Be back soon.
Huskies by four
After not being able to hit much of anything yesterday, the Huskies are six for nine right now and lead 17-14 with 12 minutes left in the half. Florida just started pressing, which gave the Huskies a bit of trouble, but Washington then beat the press on its last possession to create an easy layup.
UW 10, Florida 4
The Huskies are up six now after a pair of free throws by Darnell Gant. Washington seems to be doing a lot better job getting the ball inside today than in yesterday’s loss to Kansas.
Justin Dentmon has already hit a pair of threes for Washington.
Huskies off to a fast start
It’s 5-0 Washingotn early after a Jon Brockman layup and a Justin Dentmon three. It will help the Huskies a lot if they can hit some long shots early against Florida’s zone defense.
And the Huskies started with the same lineup of Jon Brockman, Justin Dentmon, Quincy Pondexter, Darnell Gant and Isaiah Thomas.
PREGAME
The Huskies and Gators are about to tip off in Kansas City, and since the game isn’t available on TV for most regular cable folks (it’s on ESPN U) I’ve decided it’s my duty to go to a sports bar, watch the game and keep you, our valued reader, informed. Sometimes this job is tough.
Hopefully somebody told Bobby Knight that it’s Washington, not Warshington, playing in this game. Guess we’ll find out soon.
