SEATTLE — The question was whether Washington could hang in there.
A young, flighty team without a solid identity or resume, the Huskies found themselves in a street fight against arch-rival Oregon in the sort of game that favored the fleet, experienced Ducks.
Hang in the Huskies did, largely because they got help from formerly invisible sources, resident go-to guy Jon Brockman and a heretofore unseen level of team toughness.
This was the Huskies’ high point of the season. It came at the right time.
It was a game Washington simply had to have. Lose, and there was no telling how damaging an 0-4 Pac-10 start would have been to both its postseason hopes and the team’s collective psyche.
Instead, Washington responded at the most critical time, when the Ducks cut a 10-point lead to 70-67 with 1:42 left. The Huskies refused to fold, keeping Oregon down with a stout defensive effort in the final minute.
“That’s an attitude we wouldn’t have had last year,” said Brockman, who finished with a spectacular, blue-collar gem — 21 points and 16 rebounds, both game-highs. “Last year, we might have faded back away and they would have taken a lead at that point. But we have a couple more experienced players who have been in the league for a while. We did a good job of digging our heels in and saying, ‘All right, that’s enough. No more.’”
The Huskies had shown little offensive aptitude in its first three Pac-10 games, all losses. In those games, they’d shot 39 percent from the floor, showed next to no inclination to run the break and committed too many turnovers.
But Ryan Appleby, 2-for-15 from the floor shooting in the past three games, spread Oregon’s defense by hitting five of his 10 3-point attempts and finished with 19 points, giving Brockman room to move. He did, powerfully, against an overmatched Maarty Leunen, who was forced to cover Brockman all alone.
“A lot of times, we were able to lob the ball over them when they were fronting me, just because they had to respect him over on the other side,” Brockman said. “It’s amazing how spread out a team can get when you have a guy like him.”
The question of whether Washington was walking the cliff’s edge was legit. The proficiency the Huskies showed early hardly was characteristic. In three conference games, the Huskies hadn’t broken the 55-point mark, yet the pace early would have put both teams over 100. Oregon, on the other hand, came in leading the conference, scoring better than 82 points a game.
Early, both teams tore up and down the court, a pace seemingly tailor-made for the Ducks, but dangerous for Washington.
Yet, the Huskies hung in because they shot 60 percent from the floor and kept the Ducks off the boards. When the pace slowed and both teams cooled off, it was Washington’s dominance of the boards and absolutely hostile defense, the defense that UW coach Lorenzo Romar has fervently demanded of this group all season, that made the difference.
“We talked about Oregon as what we thought was the most lethal offensive team in this league,” Romar said. “We saw why. Their ability to shoot the three, penetrate and dish and score from every spot on the floor is unlike every other team we’ve played and will play this year.”
Widely criticized for failing to give Brockman any offensive help, Washington got valuable contributions from point guard Venoy Overton and post Matthew Bryan-Amaning, both true freshmen.
Overton, a poster child for those who struggle with the giant step from high school to Division I, intelligently and dynamically led the Huskies’ fast break and was a strong factor on the halfcourt game. At one point, the 5-11 Overton brought the crowd to its feet when he retrieved his own missed shot, drove into the lane and threw down a shocking dunk.
Overton’s leaping, cross-court pass to Appleby, who turned it into the last of his 3-pointers for a 73-67 lead with 1:13 left, slammed the door on the Ducks.
“Not many players can make that play,” Romar said of Overton’s pass.
Bryan-Amaning, 6-9, is getting better every game. Thursday night, he displayed a competent post-up move and finished with two gorgeous jump-hooks. He also wowed the throng with his hustle, flying downcourt and blocking a sure fastbreak layup by a stunned Mitch Platt in the first half.
The feeling is that this group is growing up. Had the Huskies lost this game, a tailspin was possible, even Saturday against meager Oregon State.
Instead, the future looks almost promising.
“We’re not an NCAA team yet,” Brockman said, “not with the record we have (10-7) and what we’ve done so far. But I think we can be.”
Sports columnist John Sleeper: sleeper@heraldnet.com. For Sleeper[`]s blog, “Dangling Participles,” go to www.heraldnet.com/danglingparticiples.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
