• Box score
EUGENE, ORE. – The Washington Huskies got a solid win over rival Oregon on Thursday night, and Jon Brockman got the school career rebounding record.
However, you don’t get such records without holding yourself to a high standard, and Brockman wasn’t in much of a celebratory mood after his team’s 84-67 victory at McArthur Court.
“I don’t think (the record) registered with me,” Brockman said. “I wasn’t very happy after the game. I was happy we won, but I just wasn’t very happy with the way I played. But, you know, a win’s a win. You’ve got to put everything else aside, and road wins in league don’t come just sitting on your doorstep. I was proud of the way our guys played tonight. In the areas that I lacked, they were able to pick it up.”
Coach Lorenzo Romar was more appreciative of Brockman’s accomplishment.
“It’s something that now our guys are aware of, and you’re happy for Jon,” Romar said. “But our guys don’t understand that in 30 years they’ll be saying, ‘Yeah, the leading rebounder in the history of the school, I played with him.’ It’s something really special.”
Brockman finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds. And while he was disappointed with his defense and said he never felt in a rhythm, he contributed to a bounce-back road win that moved his team to 12-4 overall and 3-1 in Pacific-10 Conference play.
And while Brockman hit only four of 12 shots and was limited by foul trouble, several teammates made those issues moot.
Freshman Isaiah Thomas had a game-high 23 points in his first visit to Mac Court. Justin Dentmon added 22 in his final appearance at the old gym.
Oregon, which fell to 6-11 and remains winless in league play (0-5), was led by Joevan Catron, who had 12 points and 10 rebounds and contributed to Brockman’s somber postgame mood.
However, it wasn’t nearly enough.
The Ducks are athletic and one day they could grow into something special. But right now, they’re young and their mistakes crushed them. A 36.7 percent shooting mark combined with 20 turnovers is something close to a death sentence.
“We missed jumpers and layups, and weren’t taking care of the ball the way we needed to,” Oregon coach Ernie Kent said. “But these things are fixable, and it’s my job to fix them and keep getting better.”
Demanding particular attention were some of the mental mistakes that helped doom the Ducks.
Late in the first half, UW was on a 9-0 run when Kent called timeout to steady his team. The Ducks came out of the break and instantly launched a lob pass to no one, which bounced across the end line untouched.
Moments later, Tajuan Porter got out of trouble with an amazingly quick behind-the-back dribble, and then created his own trouble with a cross-court pass that sailed not only off the court but over the Huskies’ bench.
Late in the game, while UW was pushing its lead out of reach, Porter hit a 3-pointer. Then he negated it by fouling Dentmon while trying for a steal on the inbounds pass.
“I’m grateful that we were able to play Oregon here at this point in the season as opposed to later on in the year because they’re just going to continue to get better,” Romar said. “We felt coming into this game that they were a dangerous team.”
One other danger to Washington also failed to materialize.
There had been some pregame concern about some lingering mental hangover from their triple-overtime home loss to California on Saturday. However, Romar said his players seemed focused and forward-looking in practices, and they backed that up Thursday before an unusually subdued Oregon crowd of 8,237.
“(The loss to Cal) was horrible and it’s bad, but stuff happens,” Thomas said. “Hopefully, we can get this win on Saturday and then we can really forget about it.”
On Saturday, the Huskies will be up the Interstate at Oregon State where they will try to complete their first sweep of their Oregon trip since Brandon Roy’s senior season in 2005-06.
Don Ruiz, 253-597-8808
blogs.thenewstribune.com/uwsports Stars of the game
Washington guards Isaiah Thomas and Justin Dentmon combined for 45 points, seven assists and five steals. With Oregon’s long and athletic frontcourt frustrating Jon Brockman, UW’s backcourt took over.
Key stats
Oregon shot 36.7 percent from the field, 26.3 percent on 3-pointers and 64.3 percent on free throws. The Ducks also committed 20 turnovers, 12 in the first half. And while Oregon had a six rebound advantage at halftime, UW rallied to win the battle of the boards, 44-38.
Key run
Washington led, 40-37, at halftime. Then the Huskies got instant separation when Thomas opened the second half with a 3-pointer and Quincy Pondexter finished a fastbreak.
Observations
Brockman had another double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. With his seventh and eighth rebounds, he caught and passed Doug Smart, who had held the school career rebounding record of 1,051. … The Oregon student section was unusually subdued. At one point they chanted a mild insult at Brockman, but the Ducks’ 0-fer conference start seems to have taken something out of them.
Quotable
“I just expected so much more. It was nothing … I expected signs, everything Nate (Robinson) got. I was just expecting so much more, a crowd that was crazy, and it was really just not a factor.” – Thomas, on his reaction to playing at Mac Court for the first time.
Next
7 p.m. Saturday, at Oregon State, Gill Coliseum, Corvallis, Ore.; 950-AM and FSN.
Don Ruiz, The News Tribune
