UW vs. UCLA game thread
Published 3:18 pm Saturday, January 24, 2009
A huge win for the Huskies
The fans are going nuts here at Hec Ed after Washington just beat UCLA 86-75 this afternoon.
Leading by one with 6:13 left, the Huskies went on a 12-0 run to take control of the game. Justin Dentmon came back at the 4:59 mark with four fouls and led the charge. He had two steals and eight points in that run.
Isaiah Thomas scored 24 to lead the Huskies, and was one of five Huskies to score in double figures along with Jon Brockman (18) Dentmon (16), Venoy Overton (10) and Quincy Pondexter (10).
Dentmon back, and making an impact
Justin Dentmon just came back into the game a couple of minutes ago, and has two steals and a basket, and is at the line shooting two… and he makes them both
Washington now leads 74-66 with 3:36 left.
Thomas heating up, Huskies lead is five
It’s 65-60 with 7:32 left in the game, and Isaiah Thomas is finding his stroke at the right time for the Huskies. After missing his first four three-point attempts today, Thomas has made his last three, including a long NBA-range shot about a minute ago.
Dentmon continues to sit on the bench with four fouls, but so far the Huskies are doing fine without him. Venoy Overton also picked up his third foul recently, so if he gets one more the Huskies could be in trouble for guards.
Huskies lead by two, Dentmon get’s fourth foul
Justin Dentmon was the hero of the second half of Thursday’s win, but the Huskies are going to have to try to maintain this lead without him, as he is likely on the bench for a while after pick up his fourth foul. It’s 55-53 with 11:27 left in the game, and UCLA will have the ball after a timeout thanks to Washington’s 10th turnover of the game.
Josh Shipp is now up to 20 points for UCLA, which is why Justin Holiday is now guarding him. Check that, was guarding him. Holiday just checked out during the break.
Huskies up three with 15:43 left in the game
One thing I failed to mention in the halftime post is that the Huskies are again helping themselves at the free-throw line. They were 11 of 12 in the first half, and are 18 for 21 in the game. Jon Brockman is having something of a statement game in this one after scoring just four points last time out. He now has 16 points after a three-point play. It’s 49-46 with 15:43 left.
UCLA 39, UW 38 at the half
Washington is down one, but the Huskies should probably be feeling pretty good in the locker room after starting the game 0 for 6 and falling behind 9-1. Washington led by three twice late in the half, but used a 7-0 run to go up four in the final minute. Justin Holiday came up big with a three just before the buzzer to cut the deficit to one. It was the first career three for Holiday.
Jon Brockman leads the Huskies with nine points, though he only has two rebounds so far. Venoy Overton has seven points and was probably the MVP of that half for the Huskies. He’s 3 for 4 from the field, and has made a number of nice defensive plays to keep the Huskies in it. Overton got in the game earlier than usual because Justin Dentmon picked up two early fouls.
Josh Shipp leads UCLA with 12 points, while Darren Collison has six.
UCLA 24, UW 21, 7:29 left in the half
The Huskies are back in this game, largely by pounding the ball inside. So far 18 of the Huskies 21 points have come in the paint, and all of the points have been scored from inside 12 feet or so.
Jon Brockman, two days removed from his worst offensive performance in a long time, is 3 for 3 so far on field goal attempts, and he’s even made his only free throw of the day. Josh Shipp hs been lights out for UCLA, scoring 12 points on 4 of 5 shooting.
Huskies respond
Well in the minute in a half since that last post, the Huskies have scored three quick baskets, all of UCLA turnovers. Jon Brockman, who was without a field goal on Thursday, scored two of those baskets using nice post moves to get to the hoop. Venoy Overton had the other basket on a fast break after he got a steal. It’s now 9-7 UCLA.
Slow start for Washington
UCLA is up 9-1 in the early going, and Washington doesn’t seem to to be able to do much against the Bruins defense. The Huskies are currently 0 for 6 on field goal attempts, while UCLA is 4 for 7. The Huskies have also turned the ball over three times.
There’s obviously plenty of time left for Washington to get back in the game, but the Huskies had better start scoring soon, because UCLA is too good to let get out to a big lead.
PREGAME
Another sellout crowd is filling Hec Edmundson Pavilion as we’re just a couple minutes from tipoff.
Husky fans aren’t too excited to see that Dave Libbey, one of Pac-10’s least popular refs, is going to be calling the game. One student in the Dawg Pack even held up a sign saying “Welcome to the Libbey show” a reference to Libbey’s reputation as an official that likes to make himself a part of the game.
Huskies are going with their usual starters, Jon Brockman, Justin Dentmon, Isaiah Thomas, Quincy Pondexter and Darnell Gant. UCLA will start with Jrue Holiday, Darren Collison, Josh Shipp, Asfred Aboya and Nikola Dragovic.
