Keeping it close, Washington basketball fell to #1 Gonzaga, 81-79.
Wednesday night’s matchup saw Washington basketball traveling across the state to face a Gonzaga Bulldogs team led by junior, Rui Hachimura. And, as anticipated, this turned out to be the Dawgs most exciting game of the year. Gonzaga secured the victory after Hachimura scored over Sam Timmins with less than a second left on the clock.
Questionable Calls
Foul trouble needs to be mentioned first and foremost in this game, as it kept Washington on their heels all night. David Crisp picked two fouls in the first three and a half minutes of the game, and they didn’t stop all night for the Dawgs. Starting bigs Noah Dickerson and Hameir Wright both fouled out, and Timmins picked up four off of the bench. However, no foul was stranger than the one Dickerson took for having an “excessively wide base” on a screen. What’s worse is this play will be remembered for a long time thanks to it’s insane commentary, courtesy of Bill Walton.
Jaylen Nowell went to the line with less than ten seconds left, making both to tie it up. He’s starting to look like the leader this squad needs in big pressure situations. Nowell ended his night with another outstanding performance, scoring a team high 26 on ten of 18 shooting. Matisse Thybulle added 18 on his own while having a quiet night on the defensive end, and Dickerson scored 13. Rui Hachimura led the Bulldogs with 26 of his own.
Look, losing is never good, but taking the top ranked team down to the wire on the road is a great sign that this team is moving in the right direction. The Huskies look to bounce back against Seattle University on Sunday.