Dawgs Make it Rain on Cats

by Craig Yamada

Lightning struck twice for IT as he led the Dawgs to victory 85-68 tallying his second straight double-double. Thomas finished with 22 points and 10 assists. IT did it all for the Huskies tonight as he broke down Arizona’s defense at will. He made big baskets when called upon and found the open man on countless occasions. The two other members of the big three also had big games. Justin Holiday continued his hot shooting going 8-11 from field and equaling IT’s point total with 22 of his own. Holiday hit countless clutch buckets for UW including a big three pointer late in the second half to stick a dagger in the heart of Arizona. Holiday is really coming into his own over the last three games and is playing some of his best basketball. MBA also played well tonight as he totaled 18 points and 7 rebounds. MBA was a human highlight reel tonight thanks to his junior PG, Isaiah Thomas. Thomas found MBA on a couple of sweet dimes which led to easy baskets, none bigger than the first alley-oop converted by MBA with a one hand jam. MBA played strong in the post and made some nice moves with his back to the basket. Although he totaled 5 TO’s on the night, he made up for it on the other end of the floor with 3 blocks.

The Husky bench came up big for UW tonight, led by Venoy Overton. After a rough road trip in the Bay Area, VO was able to play an efficient and productive game for the Dawgs. VO was able to break down Arizona’s man to man defense in the second half for a couple of sweet layups. His last layup, a circus style lob off the glass capped off his night with 7 points and 3 assists. Darnell Gant was able to convert a big 3 pointer off the heels of IT’s game changing effort to save a ball under Arizona’s basket. Gant played great defense on Derrick Williams in the first half as he helped slow him to 6 points. He also grabbed 6 big rebounds. Terrence Ross was a silent killer tonight as he helped close out the second half when VO got into foul trouble.  Ross didn’t have the best shooting night, but he was able to convert 5 of 6 free throws during key moments in the second half and knocked down a big three to put the Cats to bed. He finished with 8 points and 3 rebounds.

Derrick Williams definitely played as advertised. Williams busted loose in the second half with 16 points and finished with 22 in the game. The Huskies did not guard him as well in the second half, but we all knew he would get his points. IT did a great job in drawing some big fouls on Williams all game. Williams is a sure fire lottery pick this year and you have to tip your hat to him for the game he had today.

All in all, UW won this game with hustle, effort, and sharing the ball. Great win for UW heading into their matchup with ASU on Saturday.

In case you missed the game, check out the highlights, courtesy of UW:

Positives:

• The Big 3: Thomas, Holiday and MBA played a perfect encore game after their incredible performance at Cal. If these guys can keep producing at this rate, UW will run away with the Pac-10 crown and much more after that.
• Rebounding: UW out-rebounded Zona 37-29. Their intensity and efforts also scored them 10 offensive rebounds. After the disappointing loss at Stanford, UW has really done well putting a body on their men and grabbing boards.
• Husky Bench: The bench got it done during key moments of the game tonight as they garnered 18 pts and 14 rebounds. Venoy, Gant and Ross: We #salute you.
• Changing Up the Defense: Romar really coached a solid defensive game tonight as he rotated between both man and zone to keep the Cats guessing. As a team they were able to get into passing lanes with 5 steals and were able to block 7 shots.

Negatives:

• Free Throws: This game shouldn’t have even been as close as it was. UW shot 64% from the stripe. I am starting to think they are better foul shooters when they are away from home?
• Wilcox: Not a terrible game for CJ given the amount of time he was given, but it wasn’t good either. His shooting slump continues as he has not shot like himself since his injury.