Washington Basketball: Huskies Pickup First Road Win

The Washington men’s basketball team beat the Utah Utes, 69-53 on the road Thursday night. Here are the highlights of what happened.

The Washington Huskies hadn’t beaten the Utah Utes since 2012, so it was a moral victory as well as an actual victory early on for the Dawgs. The Huskies are now 2-0 in Pac-12 conference play and 11-4 on the season, with all four of the losses coming on the road. The Huskies and the Oregon State Beavers are tied for third place with a record of 2-0 behind the UCLA Bruins and the Arizona Wildcats at 3-0.

Jaylen Nowell, the Huskies sophomore guard and leading scorer on the season, had a terrible night shooting, going 3 for 14 from the field for six points. However, he did lead the Huskies with six assists and 12 rebounds. Sophomore forward  Nahziah Carter came off the bench to help the Huskies cause by leading them in the game with 18 points, a new career high.

Senior guard, David Crisp, who led Washington in scoring with 23 points in the first game of conference play in the victory over Washington State, came back in this game with 17 points including 14 points in the first half to help them have a 38-30 halftime lead. Crisp is now showing how valuable he can be in Pac-12 conference play after averaging in single digits during the non-conference schedule. For the Huskies to continue winning, Crisp must be one of the leaders in his final season on the team.

Crisp also made history during the game. He became the first player in Washington history with 1,000 points, 300 assists, 200 three-point field goals, and 100 steals in his time as a Husky.

Senior forward, Noah Dickerson, the Huskies second-leading scorer on the season at 14.4 per game, got into foul trouble early and had to sit out for most of the first half. However, Dickerson had a very good second half, scoring all 13 of his points during that time. He helped the Huskies scoring seven straight points coming out in the second half. In his limited action of 20 minutes in the game, he tallied six rebounds. In order for the Huskies to continue being successful during the Pac-12 schedule, Dickerson will need to stay out of foul trouble and thus, stay on the court.

Jayce Johnson led Utah in scoring with 12 points. The junior center also had eight rebounds and three blocks. However, the Huskies were able to keep senior guard, Sedrick Barefield, in check with six points. Last week at Arizona State, Barefield had 24 points followed by 26 points at Arizona. The Utes upset Arizona State 96-86 while narrowly losing in overtime to Arizona 84-81.

Next, the Washington Huskies go to Boulder, Colorado to take on the Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday, January 12. The Buffaloes are 10-5 overall with a 1-2 record in conference play. Along with the altitude change, Washington will have a tough game ahead as the Buffaloes are always difficult at home, having a record of 7-0.