Tsohonis Provides Spark, but Struggling Huskies No Match for Stanford

The University of Washington basketball team tipped off at Stanford without Quade Green.

For the longest time, no one else showed up either.

On Thursday night in Santa Cruz, California, the talent-shy Huskies looked as disorganized and disheartened as ever early on, falling behind 12-0 before losing to the Cardinal 91-75.

Grades weren't the problem for Green this time, rather another unexplained issue.

The point guard was inserted eventually, but it didn't really matter — his team couldn't handle the ball or shoot behind the 3-point line for long stretches, season-long maladies.

These sorry Huskies (1-8 overall, 0-4 Pac-12) are now off to the program's worst start in 67 years through nine games and have dropped 21 of 26 outing over two seasons.

It didn't matter that Stanford (7-3, 3-1) played without two starters in Daejon Davis, the Seattle native, and Bryce Wills, who were injured.

Coach Mike Hopkins replaced Green at point guard at the outset with little-used Marcus Tsohonis, who scored a career-best 24 points in his first start of the season, but otherwise it was a constant shuffle of players.

"I'm just making sure when my number's called, I'm ready to play," Tsohonis said, who started nine times as a freshman last year but seemed like a forgotten man. "When I haven't played, I just make it personal."

The Huskies didn't score for the game's first five and a half minutes.

Nate Roberts finally broke up the shutout with an attempted dunk with his left hand that was partially blocked but went in, making it 12-2.

The Huskies didn't hit a 3-pointer until Green unconventionally banked one in from the top of the key, bringing them within 17-5.

With 3:18 left in the half, the UW trailed by its largest margin at 27-7 when Cardinal freshman Max Murrell dropped in a pair of free throws.

Stanford had settled on a 38-21 advantage at the break.

The Huskies sank just 1 of their first 10 treys and threw the ball away 12 times in the opening half, forcing a visibly agitated Hopkins to call a timeout and rail at his guys. They didn't play much defense or rebound during that time either.

The coach stubbornly opened with usual starters Hameir Wright, Jamal Bey, Erik Stevenson and Roberts, who have formed an unproductive lineup, to go with Tsohonis.

Wright had four fouls one minute into the second half.

Stevenson's first shot was blocked.

Bey missed badly from 3-point range on his first attempt.

Green entered the game three and a half minutes after it began and he immediately turned it over.

Sophomore RaeQuan Battle entered midway through the first half and committed a turnover the first time he touched the ball.

If there was a glimmer of hope, the Huskies finally seemed to settle down some in the second half, with Tsohonis providing points and a calming influence.

The sophomore from Portland hit three shots from 3-point range, grabbed five rebounds and came up with a couple of steals. He hit on 8 of 21 field goals.

Playing together for the first time, the Huskies cut the Stanford lead to 57-46 with 11:30 left to play before the Cardinal went on an 14-2 run to pull away.

"In the second half, we were hungry," Tsohonis said. "We put ourselves in a hole and it was a little too late."

Hopkins paired Tsohonis with Green, Michigan transfer Cole Bajema, USC transfer J'Raan Brooks and 7-4 Riley Sorn during this stretch. Bajema, a 6-foot-7 sophomore, played his most minutes and supplied 7 points.

The Huskies will try once more to find the win column on Saturday at California.

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