The Washington Huskies men's basketball team lost Monday evening against the Seattle University Redhawks by a score of 79-70 in a game that was controlled by Seattle U from opening tip-off.
Poor shooting and subpar defense by the Huskies was a huge problem for Danny Sprinkle's Huskies in the first half, and Washington just couldn't dig itself out of the hole that was a 20-point lead the Redhawks had early in the second half.
The Dawgs struggled shooting the ball in the first half, shooting 9 for 24 (38 percent) from the field, and a measly 1 for 10 from beyond the 3-point line (10 percent). The poor shooting and lack of defense resulted in an early 38 to 23 lead by the Seattle University Redhawks over the Huskies.
The only shining point for the Huskies was big man Great Osobor, who was 5 for 6 from the field, totaling to 13 points which was more than half of the Huskies 23 points. Osobor also led the team in rebounds, assists, and blocks, all while playing the entire first half.
The Husky defense was also very slow in the first half, allowing the Seattle University Redhawks to shoot 48 percent from the field and putting up 38 points. The Huskies also lost the rebound battle in the first half 12 to 19 and also ended up with more turnovers as well, with the count being eight turnovers, to the Redhawks four turnovers.
Washington Huskies comeback comes up short in frustrating home loss against Seattle U
The Dawgs came out with a little more energy in the second half, with a 17 to four run to open the half sparked by Tyler Harris, who scored 10 points, and seven points from freshman and McDonald's All-American Zoom Diallo.
Despite the good run early in the second half, the Huskies were not able to catch up to the Redhawks due to a 20 point lead that they were able to amass and keep control of for the rest of the game, with the Huskies only bringing the score within seven points towards the end.
The Huskies ended the game committing 12 turnovers to the Redhawks eight turnovers. Unfortunately, the Huskies also lost the battle of the rebounds, with Seattle U securing 36 to the Huskies' 33 rebounds.
One major part of the game was that Seattle U was very efficient shooting from the free throw line, making 29 of their 32 free throws. The Huskies on the other hand, made only 16 out of their 23 free throws, showing that not only making free throws is important, but getting to the line is also a key to success.
For the Huskies, Tyler Harris was the leading scorer for the Huskies with 20 points and 6 rebounds. Great Osobor followed closely behind with 19 points and gathered 10 rebounds for himself. Zoom Diallo came off the bench and was able to drop in 13 points in 20 minutes. For the Seattle U Redhawks, senior Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe led the way with 23 points and 16 rebounds on 63 percent shooting, and senior John Christofilis was second in Redhawks' scoring with 21 points.
The Huskies continue their stretch of home games as they face the 2-11 New Jersey Institute of Technology Highlanders on Sunday, December 29th with hopes to bounce back from a game they were supposed to win on paper.