Huskies Shoot Lights Out, Then Lose Touch and Game

For 20 minutes against Iowa, the University of Washington basketball team was so hot, the Huskies should have called game and gone home.

In the opening half on Wednesday night, they connected on a blistering 76.9 percent of their shots, hitting 20 of 26, and this was after Hannes Steinbach's last-second tip-in was waved off.

They hit 6 of 8 from 3-point range, 2 of 2 from the foul line.

Quimari Peterson, Bryson Tucker and Steinbach were a combined 12 for 12 from the field at that point.

OK, who were these guys?

Certainly not the team that showed up after the break.

In their red and white uniforms to promote cancer awareness, especially with the large W they wore on their shorts, the Huskies looked like Wisconsin.

Hot and cold Badgers.

Up by seven a minute and a half into the second half, Danny Sprinkle's team had the spigot turned off, lost the lead on an 18-4 run and went down to a disappointing defeat 84-74 in what was a highly winnable game at Alaska Airlines Arena.

"We told them to keep our foot on the gas pedal," the coach said. "I thought we wore down in the second half."

Bryson Tucker catches a lob pass and dunks it through against Iowa. | Dave Sizer photo

The news was even worse than that with Sprinkle revealing afterward that freshman point guard JJ Mandaquit, who has a foot injury, is likely out for the season. He was in sweats and looked visibly distraught as he could only watch his teammates warm up.

Bennett Stirtz, a 6-foot-4 senior guard and Iowa's leading scorer, had 13 of his game-high 22 points in the second half for the Hawkeyes (17-5 overall, 7-4 Big Ten).

The Huskies (12-11, 4-8) were led by the 6-foot-11 Steinbach who turned in his 15th double-double by picking up 20 point and 12 rebounds.

"It was a tough loss again," Steinbach said. "We wanted to come out and make a statement."

Teammate Zoom Diallo supplied a double-double as well, scoring 16 points and handing out 12 assists.

The UW still finished with a 56.9 shooting percentage (28 of 51) to Iowa's 59.6 percent and won the rebounding battle (28-19).

It wasn't nearly enough.

In match-up of similar teams, the Huskies and Hawkeyes battled furiously throughout the first half, with the home team going up by eight points and not trailing by more than three.

With 2:41 left before the break, Iowa led 40-39 when forward Tavion Banks bumped off a Husky inside and dropped the ball in.

The Huskies, however, had a strong finishing kick in them, outscoring the Hawkeyes 9-1 for the rest of the half with Peterson reclaiming the lead with a 3-pointer from the left side and Wesley Yates III draining back-to-back 3-pointers, both right of the hoop.

Wesley Yates III leans in for a shot against Iowa. | Dave Sizer photo

Iowa was no slouch launching shots in the first half either, connecting on 60;7 percent (17 of 28) in the opening 20 minutes to keep within striking distance.

Yet after the rest, Diallo's floaters in the key came up short, Tucker's mid-range jumpers spun around the rim and out and the 3-pointers quit going in with the earlier frequency.

"We've got to get stops and can't keep trading baskets," Diallo said.

Quimari Peterson gets into a defensive stance against the Hawkeyes. | Dave Sizer photo

The Huskies sitll were within one of Iowa, 67-66 with 8:49 left on a Steinbach tip-in, but the Hawkeyes went on an 8-0 run and that was it.

With their uneven Big Ten schedule, the Huskies go back on the road after this single local appearance. They play UCLA (16-7, 8-4) at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday night at 7.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: