SEATTLE — The Washington Huskies’ game plan was to get the ball down low to Noah Dickerson.
It worked to perfection.
Dickerson scored 28 points and pulled down 22 rebounds, both career-highs, to pace Washington to a 79-69 win over stubborn Eastern Washington in men’s college basketball action Sunday.
Washington improved to 2-0 under first-year coach Mike Hopkins, the longtime Syracuse assistant. The Huskies have won 13 of 14 against Eastern.
“We need to get Noah Dickerson the ball,” Hopkins said. “He’s one of the best low-post players in our league, for sure, and I don’t know how many guys are as good as him in the country. He’s making his foul shots, which is big. We’re committed to getting him the ball. When you have a guy that you can get the ball to and create double-teams, it just opens it up and makes it easier for everybody else.”
Dominic Green, who missed all three of his shots in a scoreless first half, hit consecutive 3-pointers to put Washington up by 10 with 16:32 remaining. Neither team scored again until the 12:29 mark when Jesse Hunt’s 3-pointer pulled the Eagles within seven at 48-41.
“It was a 10-point game for a long time, but we weren’t getting the rebounds that we had to get,” Hopkins said. “There were plays, when you get to a game like that, it’s 10 (points), you have to get those balls, because now we can get in transition. You can’t just think it’s over, or don’t let them stay in the game. You’ve got to learn how to put teams away.”
EWU’s Ty Gibson’s 3-pointer made it 52-48, but the Huskies gradually extended the lead, going up 62-51 on Mattisse Thybulle’s 3-pointer with 7:37 left.
Bogdan Bliznyuk had 20 points and Luka Vulikic scored 10 for Eastern Washington (1-1), which made just 10 of 29 second-half field-goal attempts. The Eagles also missed 11 of 28 free-throw attempts.
Eastern Washington coach Shantay Legans said the Huskies’ zone, which Hopkins brought with him from Syracuse, presented problems.
“Their zone bothered us and it showed,” Legans said. “We didn’t turn the ball over, but we didn’t get great shots like I thought we would.”
Thybulle added 15 points and David Crisp 11 for the Huskies. Dickerson’s previous career bests were 27 points against USC and 17 rebounds vs. Seattle, both last season.
“We just had a good game plan,” Dickerson said. “We wanted to play inside and out, because it opens up the lanes for everybody else, the driving lanes and get shooters open shots. They came to me early and they just had fun with it and kept going with it.”
Eastern Washington center Benas Griciunas and forward Mason Peatling each fouled out trying to contend with Dickerson, and reserve forward Jesse Hunt had four fouls.
“He kicked our butt today,” Legans said of Dickerson. “He went 20 and 20 and that’s hard to do in a college game. He did it and he got seven offensive rebounds. He was unbelievable. He was the best player on the floor today.”
Crisp’s 3-pointer at the buzzer — the Huskies’ first after eight misses from beyond the arc — put Washington up 40-34 at the half. Dickerson, a 6-8 junior post, had 20 points in the first half — making 6-of-7 from the field and 8 of 10 free throws — along with 11 of Washington’s 19 rebounds.
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