Huskies Patch Things Together to Beat Buffaloes 73-63
Big man Franck Kepnang, his right knee encased in a thick brace and wrap, hobbled into Alaska Airlines Arena on Sunday with the help of cane.
He passed guard Noah Williams, seated courtside in sweats and fiddling with his phone, someone who has his own knee problems.
Without these two injured veterans and transfer portal additions, the University of Washington basketball team had no choice but to look elsewhere for production against Colorado and Braxton Meah and Cole Bajema provided it.
The 7-foot-1 Meah, after missing the Oregon State game with an ankle injury, and the 6-foot-7 Bajema each stepped up and provided a team-high 16 points in a 73-63 victory over the Buffaloes in the UW's home conference opener.
It wasn't perfect, but it was a win.
The Huskies (7-2 overall, 1-1 Pac-12) took the lead for good on Meah's two free throws near the end of the first half, giving them a 25-24 advantage, and then just swatted away the Buffaloes (4-5, 0-2) the rest of the way.
They went up by 16 points, at 50-34, before Colorado crept back within two, at 56-54, but the UW still kept them at a distance to the final buzzer.
Meah not only supplied points but he led his team with 7 rebounds and 3 blocks and supplied a much needed inside presence.
He had a hard time just sitting there helpless and watching in Corvallis after Kepnang crashed to the floor with a torn-up knee.
"Definitely, 100 percent, I was feeling it for sure," Meah said of wanting to play for his injured teammate. "I really wanted to go grab my shoes and play. It was a close game. But I couldn't even walk. It was really bad."
Kepnang has been ruled out for the season, while Williams has missed all but the first half of the season opener and probably won't return until sometime in January.
Against Colorado, Meah wore a heavy ankle brace and was motivated by someone before the game writing on a board, "PLF" — play like Franck. And Meah gritted it out and did.
"Having him back, he's a huge piece for our team. He brings so much rebounding, physicality, buckets down low, whatever it is," Bajema said, before turning to his teammate with a direct message. "So it's good to have you back."
The Huskies shared the ball and the production against Colorado with Meah and Bajema backed by Keion Brooks' 14, Jamal Bey's 12 points and 5 steals, and P.J. Fuller's 8 points and 4 assists.
Before the game, Kepnang approached 6-foot-10 sophomore Jackson Grant during warm-ups and slapped hands with the younger guy.
They effectively had changed roles.
Grant, who sat out the first eight games and intended to redshirt, was in uniform on Sunday and even played 10 minutes out of necessity.
Now it was Kepnang who will get his knee fixed and otherwise be in street clothes on game night the rest of the way as a spectator supporting his teammates.
The Huskies have five days to prepare for a Gonzaga team (5-3) not quite as dominant as in recent seasons. The teams meet in Spokane on Friday night at 6 p.m.
Go to si.com/college/washington to read the latest Inside the Huskies stories — as soon as they’re published.
Not all stories are posted on the fan sites.
Find Inside the Huskies on Facebook by searching: Inside Huskies/FanNation at SI.com or https://www.facebook.com/dan.raley.12
Follow Dan Raley of Inside the Huskies on Twitter: @DanRaley1 or @UWFanNation or @DanRaley3
