Huskies Do Everything But Win, Fall to Washington State in OT
Facing a must-win game against Washington State, the Washington basketball team had a final chance in overtime to come away with a win, but it couldn't get a good shot.
Fifth-year forward Keion Brooks Jr., who finished with a career-high 35 points, received a pass from point guard Sahvir Wheeler with two seconds remaining in the bonus period but his shot was off target as the Huskies fell 90-87 on Saturday night at Alaska Airlines Arena.
WSU forward Myles Rice knocked down just his second 3-pointer of the night with 1:54 remaining in overtime to give the Cougars what turned out to be the game-winner. No one would score after that for either team.
"Myles Rice hit a dagger — that was the game," Uw coach Mike Hopkins said.
The 6-foot-7 Brooks, who notched his second 30-point game of the season, connected on 12 of 22 shots and added 7 rebounds and a pair of assists in 41 minutes.
The UW (12-10 overall, 4-7 Pac-12) and WSU (16-6, 7-4) traded one-possession leads for a majority of the second half before forward Moses Wood hit his fifth 3-pointer with 4:06 remaining to give the Huskies a 76-71 lead.
The Cougars stayed in the game by going on an 8-4 scoring run to cut the deficit to 80-79 with 1:23 left.
A costly turnover by Wheeler, who bounced a pass out of bounds that was intended for Brooks with 1:02 remaining, gave WSU new life and the Cougars took full advantage.
Junior forward Jaylen Wells scored a mid-range jumper to put Washington State back on top, 81-80, with 33.8 seconds remaining.
Wheeler redeemed his turnover with a layup to put the UW ahead 82-81 with 22 seconds remaining.
However, Wood missed a free-throw attempt with 11.1 left after hitting the first, which opened the door for Cougar forward Isaac Jones to send the game to overtime with a thunderous dunk with the score 83-83 right before the buzzer.
"I'm sick for the fans," Hopkins said. "It was pretty good. We just couldn't get some stops when we needed some stops. That was the bottom line."
Backing Brooks, the starting guards were the only other players in double-figures for the home team. Wood scored 18 points on 5-of-6 shooting from 3-point territory while Wheeler added 16 points on 8-of-16 from the floor.
The Huskies had a chance to win with 3.2 seconds at the end of regulation but Wheeler stumbled before throwing up a layup that missed as he went to the floor.
Five Cougars finished in double figures with Jones leading the way scoring 20 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the floor.
After starting off slow Washington used an 14-2 scoring run to build a 37-26 lead over Washington State with 6:46 remaining in the first half.
Not to be outdone, the Cougars responded with a 13-0 run to erase their deficit and take a 39-37 lead with just over two minutes remaining before halftime.
As the buzzer sounded for intermission, WSU forward Andrej Jakimovski knocked down a deep 3-pointer to send the Cougars to the locker room up 44-40.
Less than 100 percent, senior center Braxton Meah (ankle) and sophomore guard Koren Johnson (shoulder) came off the bench for UW on a night when Hopkins needed every available player.
Johnson played just three minutes and did not attempt a shot in a brief appearance. Meah, who rolled an ankle against Utah, finished with 4 points and 6 rebounds in 27 minutes.
Franck Kepnang, the UW's senior center, missed his 11th consecutive game while recovering from a knee injury he suffered in the second half at Seattle University on December 17.
Washington goes on the road to face Oregon and Oregon State next Thursday and Saturday.
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