Huskies Regroup, Pick Up Road Win at Rutgers

Coming in off the turnpike, the University of Washington basketball team pulled into snowy Rutgers like they were riding on tires low on air.

Yet as long as they weren't down to the rim, the Huskies were OK.

On Tuesday, Danny Sprinkle's short-handed team overcame the loss of yet another player -- this time starting center Franck Kepnang -- to build a big lead right away and drive off with a 79-72 victory over the Scarlet Knights and a two-game East Coast road split.

"Everything was different tonight," said Sprinkle, whose guys lost to Maryland 64-60 on Saturday, "and it showed."

The 6-foot-11, 250-pound Kepnang, who had maintained surprisingly good health this winter following three season-ending knee injuries, finally wore down with more leg issues and was in street clothes for the Huskies (14-14 overall, 6-11 Big Ten).

Huskies forward Nikola Dzepina (33) shoots a 3-pointer over Scarlet Knights guard Kaden Powers (3). | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The UW still had the services of 6-foot-11 freshman forward Hannes Steinbach, who was a rebound shy of a double-double outing at halftime and was key in helping his team build a 14-point first-half lead.

He wouldn't be denied otherwise, finishing the game with 24 points and 16 rebounds for his 17th double-double, the most by a first-year player nationally.

"He was playing with force from the jump," Sprinkle said. "Whe he does that, he's hard to guard."

Guard Wesley Yates III backed him with 19 points and a career-best 7 assists.

The UW never trailed over the game's final 17 minutes. If not for continuous stretches of sloppiness by the guys in the lavender-shaded uniforms, this game wouldn't have been in question as long as it was.

For instance, Rutgers (11-17, 4-13) took advantage of two glaring turnovers by Steinbach and another by Quimari Peterson, stripping each of them of the ball, to bring the deficit down to 36-29 by the break.

Kepnang was replaced in the lineup by former Rutgers forward Lathan Sommerville, who drew his second start of the season for the UW and scored the first points of the game on a lay-in 28 seconds into it.

The home crowd clearly let Sommerville know he was persona non gratis, booing lustily when he first came out and then whenever he touched the ball. He fouled out with 1:10 remaining after scoring 8 points over 28 minutes of play.

"I'm proud of how he handled his emotions and he played hard," Sprinkle said.

Wesley Yates III (9) goes to the basket against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights during the first half. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Huskies also turned to 6-foot-10 freshman Niko Dezepina for minutes in Kepnang's absence and he was good for a first-half 3-pointer but drew 3 fouls in just five minutes of action before the break.

After intermission, the teams battled back and forth, with Rutgers pulling within five, before the Huskies put some distance between these teams again.

With 11:56 remaining, the Huskies stole the ball and Yates went in for an emphatic dunk and a 53-40 advantage, forcing the home team to call for a timeout.

They had their biggest lead at 63-45 when Yates knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key, his second consecutive trey in back-to-back possessions.

Hannes Steinbach had his second double-double of the season against Rutgers. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Still, Sprinkle's team hit a couple more sloppy stretches, permitting Rutgers first to climb back within 10 points at 63-53 on Denis Badalau's pair of free throws with seven minutes to go.

The Scarlet Knights got within five on two occasions inside the game's final three minutes, but that was it.

Then it was time to kick the sagging UW tires and they still had plenty of air in them.

The Huskies next face Wisconsin (19-8, 11-5) at Alaska Airlines Arena on Saturday in a game with a 1 p.m. tipoff, and will hold a ceremony to retire Detlef Schrempf's No. 22 that afternoon.