SEATTLE – There was less balance to Washington’s high-powered offense Friday, but it didn’t matter. The Huskies rode the play of their top two scorers to a 91-74 victory over Eastern Washington in front of a relatively subdued crowd at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.
The score wasn’t indicative of the one-sidedness of the contest. Eastern went on an 11-0 run near the end of the game after the Huskies had cleared the bench to make the final respectable.
Washington, ranked No. 11, improved on the program’s best start in 30 years, running its record to 9-0 with its 30th win in a row at home, the nation’s longest current streak. The Huskies also snapped Eastern’s (4-4) three-game winning streak. It was the sixth time this season Washington, leading the nation with a 95.8 scoring average, scored at least 90 points, but the first time the Huskies failed to have at least four players score in double figures.
Senior forward Jamaal Williams had a career-high 26 points, the third game in a row he’s scored at least 22 points. Senior guard Brandon Roy had 25 points and seven rebounds, the first time he’s broken 20 since the third game of the season, though he’s reached double figures in every game.
In addition, freshman forward Jon Brockman had his third double-double of the season (16 points, 10 rebounds). Last season, no Husky had more than two and as a team, Washington had eight. Brockman was 6-for-9 in scoring his most points since the fourth game of the season.
“I know that we’re getting closer to Pac-10 play and in Pac-10, me and Jamaal are going to have to be big players offensively,” Roy said. “I told him, ‘Tonight, let’s come out and be aggressive and start tuning it up to get ready for Pac-10 play.”
Washington won without the services of senior forward Bobby Jones, who left after six minutes with a sore right ankle that limited him in practice this week. Coach Lorenzo Romar said Jones should be fine by the time the team opens Pacific-10 Conference play Dec. 29 at home against Arizona State.
Williams and Roy shot a combined 22-for-34 and also combined for 13 rebounds. Roy is now averaging 17.1 points on 51.9 percent shooting and Williams is averaging 16.1 points on 56.3 percent shooting, including 64 percent in his last three games. Over the past five games, Williams is averaging 20.6 points on 59.5 percent shooting.
Williams scored 10 points in the first 5:13 of the game and Eastern missed six of its first seven shots. Back-to-back baskets by Roy made it 18-9 just 61/2 minutes into the contest.
“They weren’t doubling me at the time,” Williams said. “I felt I had the advantage against…I don’t even know who was guarding me. I took advantage of that opportunity.”
The Eagles, though, kept it close for awhile, beating Washington down court in transition and taking advantage of some sloppy play by the Huskies. Seven straight points closed the gap to 18-14 and Eastern stayed within four until a short jump shot by Roy sparked an 18-2 Husky run that made it 42-22. Roy scored six points in the run, Ryan Appleby sank a 3-pointer from beyond NBA range and Justin Dentmon capped things off by converting a three-point play.
“We withstood that first spurt and then we got our bearings together and we were in the game towards the end of the first half there,” Eastern coach Mike Burns said. “And then they just went on that run and that was just an effort run. They just gave greater effort than we did, and that was the difference in the game right there.”
Roy was clearly more aggressive than he has been, and he said that was by design. His 16 shots tied his season high, and he said he’s working toward getting ready for the conference season.
“I had a mentality to be a lot more aggressive,” Roy said. “There were times when usually I would penetrate early and kick it out and try to find other guys. Tonight I was like, I need to be more aggressive because in bigger games, no matter what, guys are going to look to me to be more aggressive. So I have to start preparing myself now.”
Williams and Roy combined on 30 of Washington’s 49 first-half points, making 12 of 18 shots as the Huskies shot 54.1 percent in taking a 49-30 halftime lead. Besides its brief spurt, Eastern struggled on offense, shooting 38.7 percent and committing 12 turnovers. Leading scorer Rodney Stuckey had nine points but was 3-for-10 from the field. The nation’s leading freshman scorer finished with a team-high 17 points but was 6-for-20 and had six turnovers.
“That’s a good basketball player,” Romar said. “If he was a senior, he’d be a good basketball player. But he’s only a freshman. …I think we did a pretty good job on him. He’s kind of had his way with opposing teams. He’s very good.”
Washington led by as many as 29 points in the second half and finished the game shooting 52.1 percent, the sixth time this season it has shot at least 50 percent. The Huskies also scored 22 points off 18 Eastern turnovers.
“They do a great job of pressuring people defensively,” Burns said. “And their defense is designed to just jam up everything and take you out of any sort of pattern. Under those circumstances, you’ve got to be sound with the dribble, sound with the pass, and sound with the catch. And for stretches we were 0-for-3 in that department.”
Washington is now off until Friday, when it plays host to Lehigh at 5 p.m.
“Our guys did a nice job,” Romar said. “We stayed the course in the first half. We were able to separate ourselves and distance ourselves from Eastern Washington. I thought we did a pretty good job.”
Notes: Former Husky Grant Leep of Mount Vernon is an assistant coach for Eastern. …Romar sported a nifty purple blazer that left one media member comparing him to 1980s icon Arsenio Hall. …Senior forward Mike Jensen went through the pregame warm-ups and sat on the bench in his warm-up pants and top for the first time this season. Jensen is expected to play in next Friday’s game against Lehigh after missing the first nine games recovering from shoulder surgery. …Appleby started the second half in place of Jones. …Brockman played without his protective mask for the first time.
UW men 91, Eastern 74
Eastern
Reb
MinFGFTO-TAFPt
Beitinger202-60-00-3245
Williams254-90-01-3218
Butorac213-60-01-5136
Stuckey366-203-41-66217
Smith325-104-40-05114
Penoncello162-30-00-0025
Bekkering176-93-31-51215
Humphrey70-00-00-2100
Zumwalt90-00-00-0120
Risper172-40-24-6114
Totals30-6710-1311-34201874
Percentages: FG .448, FT .769. 3-Point Goals: 4-17, .235 (Beitinger 1-3, Stuckey 2-7, Smith 0-4, Penoncello 1-2, Bekkering 0-1). Team Rebounds: 4. Blocked Shots: 4 (Beitinger 2, Butorac 2). Turnovers: 18 (Beitinger 2, Williams 3, Butorac 2, Stuckey 6, Smith 2, Humphrey 1, Zumwalt 2). Steals: 6 (Williams 2, Stuckey 1, Smith 1, Penoncello 1, Risper 1). Technical Fouls: none.
Washington
Reb
MinFGFTO-TAFPt
Jones60-20-00-0000
Williams2112-182-24-61326
Brockman246-94-63-101116
Roy2910-165-63-72225
Dentmon202-31-12-4645
Smith213-70-00-2307
Burmeister120-30-00-3300
Potter30-00-00-1000
Appleby303-90-00-0448
Wallace131-20-00-1002
Gasser211-40-01-4122
Totals38-7312-1513-39211691
Percentages: FG .521, FT .800. 3-Point Goals: 3-14, .214 (Appleby 2-6, Smith 1-2, Roy 0-3, Burmeister 0-1, Gasser 0-2). Team Rebounds: 1. Blocked Shots: 7 (Roy 2, Smith 2, Jones 1, Williams 1, Burmeister 1). Turnovers: 13 (Williams 1, Brockman 2, Roy 1, Dentmon 1, Smith 2, Burmeister 2, Potter 2, Appleby 2). Steals: 10 (Williams 2, Brockman 3, Roy 1, Dentmon 3, Smith 1). Technical Fouls: none.
EWU3044-74
Washington4942-91
Att.-9,876.
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