Huskies Make Amazing Comeback and Squander It

Hannes Steinbach got his first look at the state of Oregon and it wasn't memorable at all.

He didn't go to Cannon Beach. Didn't visit Mount Hood. Didn't wander through Portland.

No, the University of Washington freshman big man ended up with a seat on the bench in Eugene for much of the first half and from there the 6-foot-11 Steinbach could only cover his eyes as his team fell behind by 21.

Then the big man led his team to what looked like an amazing comeback victory only for him to bury his head in his hands as his team coughed up everything with a four-point play in the final 11.6 seconds and lost 85-79.

"We just dug ourselves too deep a hole," UW coach Dann Sprinkle said.

Steinbach finished with 26 points and 13 rebounds for his 19th double-double outing after scoring just 4 points and grabbing a lone rebound in the opening half.

The Huskies (15-16 overall, 7-13 Big Ten), who now turn their attention to a conference tournament game in Chicago on Wednesday afternoon as the 12th seed against No. 13 USC (18-13, 7-13).

Ah, but it's going to take Sprinkle's team a while to get over this one.

The Huskies came charging all the way back to take their first lead of the game at 75-74 on Steinbach's three-point play when he was fouled on a put-back with 2:22 left.

They went up by 79-76 on Steinbach's two free throws with 22.5 ticks remaining. And then disaster set in.

With 11.6 seconds left, Oregon forward Kwame Evans rattled in a 3-pointer, was fouled by Quimari Peterson and converted the four-point play to put his team up 80-79.

The Huskies then had Steinbach get mugged at the other end, Sprinkle get ejected over the no call and five Evans free throws later it was over.

"I wish they had treated him the same way at the end," the coach said said of his standout first-year player.

Even with Steinbach on the floor, the Huskies found themselves down 9-0 right off the bat as they came out in a zone and Oregon (12-19, 5-15) shredded it.

The Ducks, in fact, connected on their first seven 3-point attempts and had a 29-8 lead when forward Dezdrick Lindsay drained the last one of this hot streak with 9:29 left in the opening half.

Oregon guard Jamari Phillips fouls Huskies guard Quimari Peterson in Eugene. | Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images

Steinbach drew a pair of fouls by the 12:35 mark of the first half and sat down for four and a half minutes. His team was down 16-8 when he sat down and 31-13 when he came back in.

He lasted just five seconds when the Ducks' Evans drove and drew a third foul and out Steinbach went.

Huskies forward Hannes Steinbach (6) makes a move on Oregon forward Kwame Evans Jr. on Saturday night. | Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images

Playing with just seven scholarship players because of injuries and departures, the short-handed Huskies could ill afford to have him seated.

Steinbach had just those 4 points and a rebound at intermission as the UW trailed 44-30.

The big German finally got untracked by scoring his team's first seven points of the second half, but his team still trailed 53-37 at the end of his flurry.

Then the ill-fated UW comeback began, glory and agony both to the end.

Steinbach probably hopes he doesn't see Oregon again any time soon, but, go figure, he'll probably get drafted by the Portland Trailblazers in June.