• Washington 74, Wright State 69: Box score
If a team wants to use its season-opening game to learn about itself in a variety of circumstances, the Washington Huskies struck gold Friday.
UW struggled through the early minutes before getting separation with an 11-0 first-half run, seemed on the verge of a rout as the lead peaked at 18 points early in the second half, and then had to hold off a Wright State charge as that lead melted to five down the stretch.
In the end, the Huskies escaped with a 74-69 victory before a crowd of 8,239 at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.
And they might have learned some lessons that will serve them as the long season plays out.
“We kind of let down,” coach Lorenzo Romar said. “We got up (by 18), and that’s what preseason games are for: You learn from them. Hopefully, you can win and learn from those things. But when we get up 15-17, we’ve got to keep playing.”
Sophomore guard Isaiah Thomas led all scorers with a career-high 30 points, sinking 14 of a career-high 18 free throws.
“I’ve been a scorer my whole life, so there’s nothing too new,” Thomas said. “Coach told me day in and day out ‘We’re going to lean on you to score a little bit more.’ So I’m just doing what my team needs me to do.”
But on Friday it was a long way down to UW’s No. 2 scorer, as senior Quincy Pondexter scored 12 points.
“It was a lot of shots that I missed where I could have been (a better second option),” Pondexter said. “Isaiah did a great job tonight of scoring the basketball.”
However, Pondexter added a game-high nine rebounds and provided needed leadership when the Raiders nibbled the lead back into single digits near the end.
“Down the stretch Quincy Pondexter showed a great deal of leadership on the offensive end and the defensive end,” Romar said. “I thought Scott Suggs came in and gave us a lift, especially in the first half.”
Suggs – who didn’t crack the rotation as a freshman – had nine points in 18 minutes and was on the floor at crunch time.
In his college debut, freshman Abdul Gaddy had five points, one rebound, one assist and a steal.
Senior guard Todd Brown led Wright State with 21 points – 12 of those in the second half.
The Raiders matched Washington with 29 rebounds, and they outshot UW from the floor, 49 percent to 42.3 percent.
“We knew that they would never give up,” Pondexter said. “They’re a veteran team; they’re a very good team. They’re picked to finish second in (the Horizon League) – which is an underrated conference. That wasn’t a gimme game right there. They’re a tough team, and I expect them to do great things.”
The Huskies held an 11-3 advantage in steals, outscored the Raiders 8-2 on fastbreaks and got to the free-throw line 35 times compared with the Raiders’ 21.
“(UW is) a great defensive team,” Wright State coach Brad Brownell said. “They deny passing lanes and make it really hard to run your offense. ... They had a few more free throws than us, but I think mostly turnovers by us and the second-chance points changed the game.”
The Athletes in Action Classic continues at 4:30 p.m. today when Wright State meets Portland State. Washington returns to action at 7 p.m. against Belmont, which beat PSU, 74-67, in the Friday opener.
“I watched some of it,” Pondexter said. “I think Belmont, as well as Portland State, they’re very disciplined teams.”
Don Ruiz, 253-597-8808
blog.thenewstribune.com/uwsports
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