Per The University of Washington Press Release…..
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Jaylen Nowell scored 20 points, capped by three free throws with 1.6 seconds left, and Washington weathered a furious Oregon rally to escape 61-56 on Thursday night.
Nowell was fouled on a desperation 3-point try after Payton Pritchard lost the ball as the Ducks were trying to set up for a final shot with the score at 56-56. Pritchard then hit Nowell on the arm as he rose to shoot from about 30 feet.
“First off, this is a bad, I wish I could say it, but this is a bad boy! This is a bad boy. I’ve seen him since he was in the eighth grade. He’s one of the clutchest players I’ve played with and one of the clutchest that I’ve seen. Him at the line, it was a no-brainer. It was ballgame.” Senior point guard David Crisp said afterwards.
Oregon’s last possession ended with Paul White throwing the length of the court out of bounds, and Matisse Thybulle added two more free throws for the final points.
David Crisp added 18 points and Noah Dickerson 11 for the Huskies (15-4, 6-0 Pac-12), who won their eighth consecutive game. It’s also Washington’s best start in conference play in 35 years.
Louis King had 19 points to lead the Ducks (11-8, 2-4), and Miles Norris added 10 off the bench. Oregon lost a fourth home game in Matthew Knight Arena for the first time since it opened in 2011.
The Huskies led 51-42 before Pritchard led the Ducks on a 14-0 run over 6 minutes to go up 56-51, but Oregon never scored again. Washington answered with five straight points by Nowell to tie.
“Momentum just shifted…..They got the crowd in it. They were all over the place. We only had a certain number of timeouts and we were trying to breathe for air. Hoping that the guys can show poise and composure. They had it rocking in there. They took that lead. Saying relax and making sure we had guys in the right spots for the press break. When they were up five, that’s when we started attacking their pressure. We got stops down the stretch, which was huge. Never in doubt? I don’t believe that. We’re just going from one possession to the next. And we’re blessed and happy that we got that call down the stretch and Jaylen made the foul shots.” Washington head coach Mike Hopkins said.
Washington led by as many as 12 in the first half and was up 27-19 at the break largely because of Sam Timmins’ seven consecutive points off the bench. King had nine for the Ducks, who committed 10 turnovers and had three starters go scoreless in the first half.
It was the third fewest points in a first half by Oregon this season, and the others resulted in losses at Houston and Baylor.
BIG PICTURE
Washington will go for its second road sweep of the season and its sixth in the past 10 years when it takes on Oregon State. The Huskies have yet to give up more than 70 points in a conference game.
UP NEXT
Washington: At Oregon State on Saturday.
