The Washington Huskies Men’s Basketball team was looking to rebound after recent losses, with another opportunity at Alaska Airlines Arena against the Arizona State Sun Devils.
Washington head coach Mike Hopkins shook up the lineup by starting true freshman Marcus Tsohonis and RaeQuan Battle in the backcourt.
At the beginning of the first half, the Huskies started out ice cold from the field, as they couldn’t hit any shots from the perimeter.
Arizona State would capitalize on the Huskies’ misses and build an early 6-2 lead, with some fast break midrange shots of their own.
The only “hot hand” for the Huskies was Tsohonis who had all of Washington’s points with 4, as everyone else couldn’t get going early.
During a timeout at the 15:37 mark, the Sun Devils were leading the Huskies 8-4, as both teams were trying to feel each other out.
Washington would go on a 5:14 stretch with no made field goals, which has been a problem all season long for the Huskies.
That stretch consisted of the Huskies going 1 for 9, missing their last 6 shots, which was an abysmal shooting exhibition.
At the 11:44 mark, the Sun Devils were leading the Huskies 17-8, which prompted a quick timeout from Hopkins to regroup.
The Huskies best player, true freshman forward Isaiah Stewart, was scoreless all the way to the 11:15 mark of the first half.
Eventually the Sun Devils would go on a scoring drought of their own that lasted over 2:33 seconds, allowing the Huskies to cut the lead down to 4 points.
Washington started to settle into the game a bit and find their way, but silly turnovers crept in once again stunting their momentum.
During a timeout at the 7:57 mark, the Huskies were trailing the Sun Devils 21-17, but it felt like they were close to getting over the hump.
Arizona State went on a 6-0 run of their own to push their lead to near double-digits, before the Huskies would answer with some buckets too.
The first half was a lackluster story for the Huskies, as they couldn’t establish Stewart on the inside, allowing Arizona State to lead with 14-6 points in the paint.
Offensively, the Huskies couldn’t get any rhythm going with any consistent scoring, stunting their ability to push the tempo of the game.
The entire half, the Huskies were swimming upstream to just keep the game close but they couldn’t quite tie the score or take the lead.
During the last part of the first half, the Huskies continued their rough shooting night, but still couldn’t find a way to score the basketball.
Arizona State kept chipping away at the Huskies methodically, increasing their lead but not allowing the Huskies to make a late surge.
At halftime, Arizona State was ahead 39-33, after coming out to a fast start, but they just couldn’t quite put the Huskies away.
It was clearly evident that the Huskies were playing uninspired basketball, with a possible hangover from their loss the other night.
Marcus Tsohonis led the way with 9 points and 3 rebounds for the Huskies, as he was the only source of offensive success for the Dawgs.
Surely Washington head coach Mike Hopkins was pleading with his team in the locker room to come out with a sense of urgency in the second half.
At the start of the second half, the Huskies were clearly trying to establish Stewart early on the post to get some easy baskets going.
The Huskies played with a sense of urgency early on, but were having problems making baskets from the perimeter.
Stewart was playing with a chip on his shoulder, visibly calling for the ball and forcing his way to the basket any way he could!
While the Huskies were trying to get back into the game, the Sun Devils wouldn’t let their lead drop below 3-points regularly.
A lot of the same things that were plaguing the Huskies the entire first half, came back to haunt them at the start of the second half.
Loose possessions and the inability to score the basketball from the perimeter caused the Huskies to lose rhythm and momentum.
They opened the second half on a stretch where they were 0 for 7 from the field, even with Stewart imposing his will inside.
Arizona State would hit their next three shots and build some confidence and momentum of their own, as the Huskies couldn’t score.
At the 13:56 mark in the second half, the Sun Devils pushed their lead out to double digits at 10 points, with a 50-40 score.
Over the next few minutes, both teams would trade baskets back and forth but the Huskies couldn’t quite get over the hump.
The Sun Devils led 56-47 with 11:30 left in the game, which was danger time for the Huskies if they had any chance of winning the game.
As the second half wore on, the Sun Devils were starting to figure out the Huskies 2-3 zone and were picking it apart from all over.
It wasn’t just the offense that was the issue for the Huskies, but defensive breakdowns allowed Arizona State to keep a comfortable lead.
Washington went on a 70 run to cut the lead to only 6 for the Sun Devils, at the 5:15 mark. Nahziah Carter capped it off with a monstrous dunk!
It was the beginning of the Huskies final push to try and win the game. Would they have enough juice left in the tank to seal the deal?
Arizona State would answer the bell and push the lead back out to 10 points and the Huskies were fighting uphill once again.
When the final horn sounded, the Huskies lost the game 87-83, as their Pac-12 Conference record fell to 2-8, which increased their losing streak to 5 games.
The Huskies were led by Marcus Tsohonis, who had 19 points and 5 rebounds on the night. Isaiah Stewart chipped in 14 points and 5 rebounds, while Hameir Wright contributed 14 points and 4 rebounds.
Arizona State was led by junior guard Remy Martin, who finished with 19 points and 3 rebounds on the night.
It was a frustrating defeat for the Huskies, as they couldn’t shoot the ball consistently, and gave up 87 points on defense, which is the most during the season.
Next up for the Huskies (12-11, 2-8) is a road game on Sunday, February 9th at 3:00 p.m. PT, against the Washington State Cougars at Beasley Coliseum.
WASHINGTON VS. ARIZONA STATE FINAL BOX SCORE
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