On a Night for Football, UW Basketball Team Wins Opener

On Monday night, a high-profile football game played out in downtown Seattle and had everyone's attention.

All you had to do was go to the University of Washington basketball season opener against Colgate held across the city at Alaska Airlines Arena to find this out.

Nobody was there.

A quick hand count, excluding cheerleaders, band members, media representatives and essential staffers, came up with a minuscule 548 fans spread throughout the pavilion -- one of the smallest gatherings in modern times for a Husky hardwood engagement.

Here's what everyone else missed out on: Danny Sprinkle's decidedly undersized UW lineup did more than enough to put down Colgate of the Patriot League, beating the Raiders 90-76 in a fairly straightforward game that began right around halftime of the Seattle Seahawks-Chicago Bears match-up.

Husky forward Nikola Dzepina shows textbook shooting form in the season opener against Colgate. | Dave Sizer

While the home team didn't survive at Lumen Field, the Huskies emerged victorious as they should in their campus setting some seven miles away against their Eastern visitors from Hamilton, New York.

To get things started, Sprinkle went with a starting lineup of 6-foot-10 returnee Lathan Sommerville at center, 6-foot-5 Texas Tech transfer LeJuan Watts and 6-foot-10 returnee Nikola Dzepina at the forwards, and 5-foot-11 USF transfer Ryan Beasley and 6-foot-7 Gonzaga transfer Steele Venters at the guards.

Lathan Sommerville tries to shoot over a Colgate defender for two of his 11 points before fouling out. | Dave Sizer

Dzepina personally put this one away himself by scoring 17 of the Huskies' first 23 points to open the second half and finishing with a game-high 27. Shooting 10 of 17 from the floor, the second-year Serbian forward used an assortment of short jumpers and inside spin moves to get to the basket in his splurge.

"I said put the pressure on the defense," Sprinkle said of urging Dzepina to mix it up more. "When you're closer to the basket, it puts you in the fight. There's contact down there and I think that got him into the game."

The European player clearly is more comfortable his second time around in Montlake, even showing up in colorful basketball shoes that might best be described as cotton candy apparel.

"You like it?" Dzepina said smiling. "They're different. I'm different."

For the first 20 minutes, no more than five points separated the two sides, with Colgate easing out to its largest lead at 33-28 before trailing 43-38 at intermission.

Watts again was a big point man for the UW with 22, largely by hitting 14 of 16 from the foul line. He took just 6 shots from the field and made 3.

An encouraging sign was the UW's Wesley Yates III, who has not been the same shooter since breaking his wrist nearly a year ago, hit 2 of 3 3-pointers in the opening half, including a 25-foot heave shortly before the buzzer, and finished 3 of 6 behind the line while scoring 10 points.

Getting nearly everyone involved, Sprinkle liberally rotated 10 players, including Beasley, who missed the two exhibition games and most of a month in concussion protocol after hitting his head in practice.

Asked about the small crowd because of Monday Night Football, he had a veteran answer, "We were appreciative for whoever came out. We came to the game bringing our own energy."

Texas Tech transfer LeJuan Watts defends against Colgate's Parker Jones in the season opener. | Dave Sizer

Among those missing in action were 7-foot-1 Mady Traore, who dressed but has been slowed by knee issues, and Australian guard Tristan Devers, who has been sidelined by a foot injury.

The Huskies have a week off before they play another Monday night game with a couple of things to consider. The Seahawks go again next Sunday, preventing any more conflicts right away. The UW will host Mississippi Valley State, which was the worst team in the nation last season at 3-30.

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