Washington builds early double-digit lead, routs Oregon, 78-67
The Washington Huskies gave the crowd at Hec Edmundson Pavilion a lot to be energized by Thursday night.
They were quick to build a double-digit lead over visiting rival Oregon, at one point pushed it as high as 23 points, and ran away in the second half with a 78-67 victory as the regular season begins to wind down.
Terrell Brown Jr., the Pac-12 scoring leader, poured in 25 points in the win. So did Emmitt Matthews Jr. Nate Roberts added a career-high 18 points and completed a double-double with 16 rebounds.
The Huskies (15-14, 10-9 Pac-12) also threw down eight dunks on their way to dismantling the Ducks, less than six weeks after dropping their most lopsided defeat of the season to Oregon in Eugene.
“This game is all about momentum and energy, and to get that win builds a lot of confidence, it builds a lot of togetherness,” Huskies coach Mike Hopkins said.
There was much to celebrate. Fans across the arena were on their feet in the final minute, and cheered as Brown dribbled out the clock.
So ended a streak of six consecutive losses to the Ducks, and a five-game drought against their rivals on the Huskies’ home court. Before Thursday, UW hadn’t bested Oregon in Seattle since the 2015 season.
“The word was toughness, and I felt like we were tough tonight,” Hopkins said. “We know how good they are, always been. We’ve struggled against them. … I felt like we were a really tough team tonight and we made the plays that we had to make.”
Now, the Huskies have some important momentum heading into their regular season finale against Oregon State on Saturday afternoon, before they depart for the Pac-12 Tournament, which begins Wednesday in Las Vegas.
It didn’t take too long for the Huskies to gain control of this contest for good, either. UW pieced together two quick runs — one in the opening five minutes in the half and another in the closing five minutes — to fuel what was an eventual double-digit lead heading into the break.
Brown scored UW’s first eight points, giving the Huskies their first advantage on a pull up jumper less than three minutes in, and extending it to 8-4 by the 15:39 mark.
The Ducks (18-12, 11-8) responded with a nine-point series before UW answered, and took a lead on a De’Vion Harmon’s jumper at the 13:37 point. It wasn’t until Brown pulled up for another jumper nearly seven minutes later that the Huskies took the lead back at 18-17.
But, Oregon never regained it. Brown hit a pair of free throws with 4:10 left in the opening half to give the Huskies the lead for good.
That basket keyed a 12-0 run that was capped by a two-handed slam from Matthews after a Ducks turnover.
Oregon answered with a Harmon 3-pointer on the next possession, but UW still took a 33-23 lead into halftime.
“They missed a couple shots around the basket, and we were able to get out in transition,” Hopkins said of the run before the break. “I thought we were the aggressor. I thought we attacked them, which was good.”
The Huskies also limited Oregon at the other end, holding the Ducks to 27.3 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes.
“We locked in on defense,” Roberts said. “Anytime when we get a momentum push, it always sparks from defense. All the games pretty much where we pulled out a win, it was from the defensive end.
“We’re at our best when we’re stopping teams and then getting in transition and getting easy buckets, so I think that was the root of it all.”
UW kept up the offensive production in the second half, opening on an 8-0 run keyed by seven quick points from Matthews.
Oregon didn’t score on its first five possessions, and UW continued to pull away. The Huskies built a 21-point margin by the 15:46 mark, when Cole Bajema forced Oregon into a turnover, Brown grabbed the loose ball and heaved it to Roberts at the other end of the floor.
Roberts hauled in the pass, then spun underneath the hoop, and threw down a one-handed dunk to bring the crowd to its feet and make it 46-25.
UW’s lead hovered around the 20-point mark — and stretched as high as 23 points on a Roberts basket with 12:40 to play — much of the rest of the way.
The Ducks never cut it back to single digits, though they had three players reach double figures scoring. Harmon led Oregon with 17 points, while Quincy Guerrier had 16 and Jacob Young added 14.
The Huskies outpaced the Ducks shooting — 45.8 percent from the floor to Oregon’s 38.2. They outpaced the Ducks on the glass — 41 to 38. And they held a lead for a complete 30 minutes in one of their most convincing performances of the season.
“We’ve had some opportunities against the upper-echelon teams in the league, and we’ve had great moments in those games, but weren’t able to finish,” Hopkins said. “Tonight we finished. That’s a good basketball team. They’ve got a great coach. They’ve got a really good team. And I was just happy that our guys got to experience that.”
This story was originally published March 3, 2022 at 9:33 PM.
