SEATTLE – Before Monday night, Ryan Appleby’s career-high at Washington was 18 points.
He needed only a half to blow that up Monday night against Southern Utah before 9,872 at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.
Appleby, a junior guard from Stanwood, poured in 21 by halftime in an 87-72 Husky victory against the overmatched Thunderbirds. He finished with 24.
Appleby hit all but one of his nine first-half shots from the floor and was 5-for-6 from beyond the three-point arc by intermission. It was the second game in his new role, coming off the bench.
“Starting or coming off the bench, it isn’t a big deal to me,” Appleby said. “I know how to play that role because I played it all last year, coming off the bench, kind of being the hired gun. I got rolling a little bit tonight and my teammates did a good job finding me.”
It was fortunate for the 13th-ranked Huskies (7-0) that Appleby showed up blazing because Washington got uneven offensive performances from others. While the game still was relatively competitive, meaning in the first 20 minutes, post Spencer Hawes picked up his second foul 21/2 minutes into the game and played just seven first-half minutes.
Forward Jon Brockman, though tough on the boards with five rebounds, didn’t attempt a shot from the floor and had one point by halftime. He finished with seven points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
Freshman guard Adrian Oliver, who had taken Appleby’s place in the starting lineup two games ago, was scoreless on the first half on 0-for-3 shooting.
Freshman Quincy Pondexter, the Huskies’ leading scorer at 17 points a game coming into Monday, had just four points by intermission on 1-for-3 shooting.
Still, 13th-ranked Washington eased to a 49-37 halftime lead, largely because of Appleby and freshman Phil Nelson, whose 10 points all came in the first half.
The matter had little suspense after Appleby buried a fall-away 3-pointer on the left side that gave the Huskies a 33-27 advantage with 4:42 left in the half. He would go on to score eight more before intermission, the last of which was a 30-footer from beyond the top of the circle with 32.6 seconds remaining to give Washington a 49-35 lead.
Starting point guard Justin Dentmon, who finished with 11 points and 11 assists, injured his left leg with a minute left in the game while converting on a fastbreak layup. He was carried off the court.
After the game, Dentmon said it was the last in a series of cramps during the last 12 minutes of the game, cramps that hit his legs, stomach, back and arms. He said he would be ready for Saturday’s game at Gonzaga.
“I don’t know why it’s happening,” he said. “I’ve been eating a lot of fruit, which is supposed to take away cramps. I guess I’ll try something else.”
Hawes warmed up in the second half and finished with 21 points. Pondexter added 12.
Guard Justin Allen led the Thunderbirds (6-3) with 22 points.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
