Huskies march past the Trojans (video)

SEATTLE — There were so many positives for Husky fans at Hec Edmundson Pavilion long before Washington’s game against USC came to an end Thursday.

But the Huskies saved the best for last, capping off the special night with a 78-73 victory over short-handed USC. The win improves the UW’s record to 5-1 in Pacific-10 Conference play, good for a first-place tie with UCLA. The Huskies and Bruins battle for sole possession of first place at Hec Ed on Saturday.

The night started with a stirring ovation for former Husky All-American Brandon Roy, whose jersey was retired before the game.

And there was plenty for UW fans to cheer about away from the court throughout the night, too. First, Steve Sarkisian was shown on the scoreboard taking in his first game since being named Washington’s head football coach, leading to another standing ovation. There was also plenty of excitement in the sold-out arena when it was announce that UW rivals Washington State and Oregon both lost, as did California, a team that came into the night tied with Washington and UCLA for first place in the Pac-10.

At times, however, it looked like the Huskies might not hold up their end of the bargain.

“It was weird just knowing that he’s getting his jersey retired and we’ve got to win this game just because of that,” freshman guard Isaiah Thomas said. “It was big, it got us real hyped up knowing that, and we came out and played hard.”

UW coach Lorenzo Romar said the pregame atmosphere and the sold-out crowd helped energize his team.

“Well it certainly didn’t hurt,” he said. “This was great to win this, to make Brandon’s day complete, to make our day complete. And the crowd was the best it’s been all year. Today that crowd was sensational, and that really helped us.”

USC, down its leading scorer, Dwight Lewis, who suffered an ankle injury in practice Monday, hung around almost all game, and threatened early in the second half to seize control. And once Washington seemed to have control late, the Trojans again made it just interesting enough to make Husky fans sweat a bit.

Washington led by one at halftime, but USC had a bit of momentum after Daniel Hackett hit a 30-footer at the buzzer. The Trojans then opened the second half with two quick baskets to take a three-point lead and momentarily suck some energy out of the arena.

However, the Huskies regained their composure and the two teams traded leads briefly before Washington went ahead for good, 37-36, with 15 minutes to play. USC continued to hang close until Washington’s Justin Dentmon delivered the big blow with 9 minutes, 52 seconds remaining. Leading by five at the time, Dentmon hit a 3-pointer in front of the UW bench, and was fouled after he released the shot. The senior guard hit the free throw for a four-point play.

USC never got closer than four points after that. When the Trojans did cut the lead to four, Dentmon hit another 3-pointer to give his team some breathing room.

The Trojans again made it interesting in the final minutes thanks to some sloppy play by the Huskies, but Washington held on in large part thanks to a rare strong performance at the free-throw line. The Huskies, who came into the game shooting 69.5 percent from the line, hit 32 of 40 attempts (80 percent) in the game.

Dentmon, one of four Huskies who was a freshman when Roy was a senior (along with Jon Brockman, Artem Wallace and Joe Wolfinger), finished with a team-high 22 points. His total included 15 in the second half and helped to make sure that his former teammate’s big day ended with a victory.

“Whatever you’ve said in past, Justin Dentmon is having a heck of a senior year, and he stepped up big time for us tonight,” Romar said. “That’s what you’re counting on seniors to do, and he did it.”

USC’s Leonard Washington and Washington’s Thomas collided to provide the odd moment of the night late in the first half. The two were both given fouls when Washington tangled with Thomas while going to the basket. Rather than deciding to assess a player control foul on Washington or a block on Thomas, the officials decided to do both, though that decision took about five minutes to make.

“Why are you trying to get me in trouble?” Romar said with a smile when asked if he’d ever seen such a call. “Yeah, tonight.”

Equally strange was the fact that the Huskies managed to lead after a half in which the team’s two leading scorers, Thomas and Brockman, scored just one point apiece. Thomas bounced back with a strong second half and finished with 17 points. Brockman never found his scoring touch and did not make a field goal, finishing with a season-low four points, but still finished with 13 rebound and played a big role on defense.

Daniel Hackett had 24 points to lead USC, while Taj Gibson had a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Freshman DeMar DeRozan added 16 points and seven rebounds, though he was limited to just four points in the second half while battling foul trouble.

Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more on UW sports, check out the Huskies blog at heraldnet.com/huskiesblog.