Huskies Hold Off Colorado on Road for 3rd Consecutive Win
Against Colorado, Keyon Menifield was in the starting lineup for the University of Washington basketball team and Koren Johnson joined him just two and half minutes into their game in Boulder, forming an all-freshman backcourt.
By now, it shouldn't be lost on anyone that as the Huskies get younger, they seem to be getting better.
On Thursday night, this often fresh-faced UW unit took the lead for good as soon as these two first-year players got on the floor together, nearly gave it all back but came away with a 75-72 victory.
The outcome was good for a third consecutive win for the Huskies (12-8 overall, 4-5 Pac-12) and a season series sweep of the Buffaloes (11-9, 3-6). Colorado led only 4-2 in losing just its second home game.
UW coach Mike Hopkins lately has been faced with the delicate decision of trying to turn his team over to his talented first-year players more while not losing his older guys in the process.
Everyone seemed to be on board with it on this Rocky Mountains tour, especially senior forward Keion Brooks, who led all scorers with 25 on 9-for-12 shooting, including 3 of 5 3-pointers. The young guys know that he needs to have the ball.
Braxton Meah, the UW's 7-foot-1 center, supplied 10 points and 12 rebounds.
The UW's Cole Bajema and Colorado's Lawson Lovering battle for the basketball.
Ron Chenoy/USA TODAY Sports
As for the freshmen, Menifield finished with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting, while Johnson added 9 points on 3-of-7 marksmanship.
The Huskies nearly frittered away a 13-point lead over the final 13-plus minutes, getting sloppy while facing the Buffaloes' doubling full-court press.
It didn't help that Johnson fouled out with 3:04 remaining and Menifield slipped and fell with a minute and a half remaining and had to leave the game shaken up, leaving the Huskies without their young ballhandlers.
Fittingly, Menifield came back in and knocked the ball away on the game's final possession, preventing a last-second Colorado shot.
Menifield started for the seventh consecutive game, replacing senior PJ Fuller, whose role and minutes have been cut significantly.
Hopkins still started senior Noah Williams, but he sent Johnson, coming off a pair of performances worthy of Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors, into the game not long after tipoff with the teams tied at 4-4.
The Huskies immediately went on a 7-0 run, capped by Johnson's 3-pointer from the left side.
Menifield dropped in a pair of treys himself, the second one giving the UW a 10-point lead at 25-15.
After dealing with a late Colorado run to close the half, the Huskies took a 33-26 lead to the locker rooms.
Following the break, the UW came out more refreshed — what else do you do with freshman on the floor — and built its largest lead at 48-35 on Brooks' 3-pointer with 13:21 left to play.
Turnovers were the only thing that prevented a blowout as the Huskies got sloppy trying to finish it off, committing 22 turnovers in all, and that enabled Colorado to creep within the final margin before the UW chalked up the win.
The Huskies finish up this two-game road trip with a Saturday stop at Utah, with tipoff at 5 p.m. PT.
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