By Larry Henry
Herald Writer
SEATTLE – Coach Bob Bender calls Grant Leep the “rock” of the University of Washington men’s basketball team.
Leep demonstrated why, hitting a crucial 3-point shot in the final minute as the Huskies defeated Western Washington 81-76 in an exhibition game Thursday night at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.
David Dixon, the Huskies’ 6-foot-11 center, tipped the ball to Leep after a missed free throw and the senior captain from Mount Vernon drilled a shot from the left baseline to put the Huskies ahead 75-69. They held off the Vikings with six free throws in the final 40 seconds to finish 2-0 in exhibition games.
“The last little series, when they got the rebound of the missed free throw and Leep hit that three, that kind of broke our back,” said Western coach Brad Jackson. “I was real pleased with how our guys did, and I think we have the makings of a real good team.”
The Vikings were without their best player, Jacob Stevenson, sidelined with a broken hand, but still they gave the Huskies all they could handle.
The Vikings were confident coming into the game, but looked as if someone had flashed a sign as they walked onto the court: “You are about to face a Pac-10 team.”
They were very tight in the opening 20 minutes, and it reflected in their shooting, a horrid 23.5 percent. This same team shot 49.8 percent last season.
“One thing to keep in mind is that it’s early in the season,” Jackson said. “It took awhile for our guys to get into the flow.”
Once they got to halftime behind by only three points (33-30) and realized what a good position they were in, they came out looking more like the team that went 27-4 and reached the NCAA Division II semifinals last year.
The Vikings led by seven points three times in the second half, but the Huskies took the lead for good 70-69 on a Dixon layin and free throw with 2:45 remaining. Junior college transfer Josh Barnard and Leep each made a free throw before Leep hit his big 3-pointer off Dixon’s only rebound of the game.
“Grant is a rock,” Bender said. “His demeanor, his play and the calming effect he had were essential in this game. If you ask the players who their leader and captain is, they will say, without hesitation, Grant Leep. By him being a leader now, it helps his teammates have confidence in him down the road.”
Barnard, who came to the UW from Tacoma Community College, stepped up big in the second half with 15 of his team-high 17 points. The Vikings had no one with the size to handle Dixon and the senior center made 6-of-8 shots from down low for 15 points.
Darnell Taylor, a 5-9 senior from East Palo Alto, Calif., sparked the Vikings with 17 points, 14 in the second half.
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