Huskies rally in 2nd half to beat Cougars 70-65

Published 1:30 am Saturday, January 6, 2018

PULLMAN — Try leaving early Friday evening only to reach the team hotel at 2:30 a.m. Saturday in Idaho.

Now watch the two leading scorers get into foul trouble and lose one of them at a critical point in the game. Then watch an unheralded bench player keep the team in it, only to win it late after once being down by 10 points.

There’s a reason why Mike Hopkins hugged athletic director Jennifer Cohen and, about 30 minutes later, said a prayer in Latin when it was over. Washington went through a gauntlet of sorts and came away with a 70-65 win over rival Washington State at the Beasley Coliseum.

“We promote the ‘Tougher Together’ theme and I think it showed,” Hopkins said. “You got guys who, on any given night, can come off the bench and they’re buying in and they’re winning.”

A year ago, the Huskies were 9-22 and only mustered two Pac-12 wins. Now? They’re 12-4 and are 2-1 in the conference with 15 games remaining.

UW didn’t grab the lead until junior point guard David Crisp hit both free throws to give UW a 62-61 advantage with 3:26 to go.

With 1:49 remaining, sophomore center Sam Timmins blocked a shot and the ball made its way to Crisp. The Tacoma native went end-to-end for a layup and a 66-65 lead.

“I just saw we didn’t have a lot of energy. We were pretty stagnant. The offense couldn’t get a good flow,” said Crisp, who scored 15 points and finished with three assists. “I was like, ‘I’m going to step up and get to the basket’ and that’s what I did.”

After the Cougars (8-7, 0-3) missed a wide-open 3-pointer, it was time for freshman Jaylen Nowell to go to work. Nowell, who played with four fouls for much of the second half, dribbled at the top of the key and forced his way into the lane for a jumper to give the Huskies a 68-65 lead with 25 seconds to go.

WSU had a chance to tie, but junior forward Robert Franks’ 3-pointer went off the rim with 10 seconds remaining in the game. Huskies forward Matisse Thybulle recovered the missed shot and hit two free throws for the final 70-65 margin.

Thybulle led the Huskies with 17 points. Franks scored a game-high 22 points.

Right when the final buzzer sounded, the Huskies celebrated the win. Hopkins went near the stands where he found Cohen and hugged her in celebration.

He probably had a hug waiting for sophomore guard Carlos Johnson, too. After not playing the past three games, Johnson made a difference.

Hopkins went as far as saying Johnson won the game for the Huskies.

“Next guy up,” Johnson said. “You gotta keep pushing forward. The ultimate goal is to win the game.”

UW went with a 10-man rotation and Johnson saw his minutes increase. When junior forward Noah Dickerson fouled out with around eight minutes to go, Johnson stepped up.

He stepped into Dickerson’s role and came away with 10 points in 14 minutes. Johnson scored two points in the first half but his impact was felt in the second.

The Huskies were down 57-52 when Johnson unleashed a jaw-dropping dunk that gave his team some much-needed energy.

From there, the Huskies went on a 18-8 run to close out the game.

“That dunk, it was like, I think he dunked on me,” Hopkins said. “I felt it like I was on the other side. It was awesome. It changed the tone.”

As Hopkins talked about Johnson, UW assistant coached Will Conroy walked by at the perfect time. Hopkins said he and Conroy, while they were going to the team hotel, pulled footage from last year’s 79-71 loss to the Cougars.

Johnson scored 17 points, but what stood out to Conroy and Hopkins was how he attacked the basket. They decided to implement that into the game plan.

It didn’t work the first time, but on the second try, the tactic paid off.

“Coach Hop drew it up right on the bench for me,” Johnson said. “He said, ‘I see you have a mismatch and we’re going to exploit it.’ He drew it up and I said, ‘I ain’t going to miss the opportunity twice.’”

UW opened its Pac-12 schedule with three consecutive road games. It beat USC on Dec. 29 and held an early second-half lead only to crumble against UCLA two days later.

The Huskies won’t play again until Jan. 11 when they host California at Alaska Airlines Arena.

Staying at home for a while might not be the worst thing in the world.

Washington’s initial flight left Friday at 5:30 p.m. and reached Pullman at 7:30 p.m. Foggy conditions forced UW back to Seattle.

Some members of the team flew grabbed a 9:30 p.m. flight to Spokane. Everyone else took an 11:30 p.m. plane to Spokane and then rode a bus to the team hotel in Moscow, Idaho.

They arrived at 2:30 a.m. only to turn around and play a 1 p.m. tip.

“As a coach, you’re always worried about the mental side,” Hopkins said. “You make sure they don’t think that even if it does. It’s just one of those things we’ve been promoting.

“Always move forward and be ready for anything.”