Almost off-handedly, Washington men’s basketball coach Lorenzo Romar mentioned the time Tony Wroten scored 70 points in a summer league game.
As if the world of college basketball – in Seattle or New York especially – was not starting to tune in to the fact that Wroten is a quickly emerging, tough-to-handle entity for the Huskies.
Brash and aggressive, the true freshman garnered his first start – and lit up a lively crowd, and NCAA tournament-tested UC-Santa Barbara, helping the Huskies snap their three-game skid with an 87-80 victory at Hec Edmundson Pavilion on Friday night.
Whether it was on difficult lean-in shots going at 7-foot-3 Greg Somogyi, or top-of-the-arc 3-pointers, Wroten was magnificent in scoring a career-high 27 points – and tying Isaiah Thomas’ single-game freshman scoring mark, set in 2008-09.
“He is quite a talent,” Romar said. “There isn’t a whole lot he can’t do out there on the floor.”
Yet, as dashing as he was in the first half – and as assertive as Abdul Gaddy played in what was easily his best outing this season – UCSB had its own standout in guard Orlando Johnson, who effortlessly made shots all over the floor, even with a hand in his face.
“A future NBA player,” Romar said.
For the Huskies to erase their halftime deficit, somebody needed to get in Johnson’s way. And with C.J. Wilcox in foul trouble, that defender became Terrence Ross.
Against Ross, suddenly Johnson lost all rhythm. He committed five turnovers and was forced into tough shots, and the Gauchos’ offense came to a halt as a result.
“I accepted the challenge,” Ross said. “I was just happy I could slow him down.”
Then Ross caught fire on offense, scoring on back-to-back possessions. It started on an alley-oop dunk off a Wroten feed, then he canned a 15-footer to give the Huskies a 60-57 lead with 10:50 to go.
Eighty seconds later, Wroten drilled a straightaway 3-pointer, triggering a run of scoring on four consecutive trips.
“In the flow … I am able to score. I am a point guard at the end of the day,” Wroten said. “I know how good I am capable of (playing). … Obviously I feel like I am one of the top freshmen in the country, and I hope everybody else sees that.”
Even the best have occasional lapses. And two lazy Wroten passes were turned into quick transition points for the Gauchos, who scored 10 consecutive points to tie it at 77 with 3:30 remaining.
The key moment came on the UW’s next possession. Desmond Simmons retrieved a missed shot and fed Gaddy, who charged into the lane. He missed, but Darnell Gant got inside Johnson for a putback and a three-point play for an 80-77 UW lead with 2:46 to go.
“We needed that play,” Gaddy said. “That deflates a team, and now we can play comfortably on offense.”
Gaddy chipped in with 17. Ross added 16. And Romar became the third UW coach to win 200 games with the Huskies, joining Clarence Edmundson (488 wins) and Marv Harshman (246).
“It was good for us,” Gaddy said. “Now we can get on a run.”
Todd Milles: 253-597-8442 todd.milles@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/uwsports
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