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Oct. 24, 2012

Box Score

SEATTLE, Wash. - Aided by 17 points apiece from guard John Allen (Sr., Brier/Mountlake Terrace) and center Chris Mitchell (Sr., Everson/Nooksack Valley), Western Washington University stayed close until the final moments before falling to the University of Washington, 88-78, in a men's basketball exhibition Wednesday at Alaska Airlines Arena on the UW campus.

Guard C.J. Wilcox had a game-high 21 points and added seven rebounds for the Huskies, who pulled away after leading by just two, 74-72, with 4:30 to play.

The Vikings trailed by nine, 46-37, at halftime, and by 13, 52-39, less than 90 seconds into the second half, but hit six of their first seven shots from the field after halftime and narrowed the margin to four, 55-51, on a Mitchell 3-pointer with 15:37 to play.

WWU eventually tied the game at 65 on an Austin Bragg (Jr., Longview/Mark Morris) jumper with 9:58 remaining, and had the game tied two more times after that. The Vikings had four different shots, all three-pointers, in the second half that would have put them in front, but none of them fell.

"We did a good job in the second half," said WWU coach Tony Dominguez. "In the first half, we looked a little shocked, we weren't quite ready for their length and quickness. But we adjusted at halftime and did a nice job after that of moving the ball and making the extra pass."

Washington eventually took the lead for good, 71-69, on two Abdul Gaddy free throws with 6:44 remaining, but didn't pull away until going on a 12-3 run to take an 86-75 advantage with 1:15 to play.

"We've been very fortunate over the last few years to play some opponents in this exhibition game that have really been able to help us," said Washington coach Lorenzo Romar. "This was really really good. You can see why those guys were national champions last year, a very good basketball team."

Forward Paul Jones (Sr., Kent/Kent-Meridian) had 15 points for WWU, which shot 48.5 percent (16-of-33) from the field in the second half. Bragg added eight points and a team-high 10 rebounds.

Gaddy and guard Andrew Andrews each had 14 points for the Huskies, and guard Scott Suggs added 13 points. UW was 32-of-41 (85.2 percent) on free throws.

Western jumped to a 6-0 lead in the first 2:14, but the Huskies rallied to grab a 10-8 lead with 13:41 left in the first half and never trailed again, eventually leading by as much as 12 in the period.

"It was a great experience," said WWU point guard Richard Woodworth. "I'm from the area, Bellevue, so I've been to a lot of games here, so it was really nice to be in this gym and play on this court. They've had a lot of really good teams so we feel real lucky to have an opportunity to play against these guys and maybe next time we can get the win."

WWU next travels to Duke for an exhibition game Saturday (2 p.m. ET).

"That's another game of a lifetime that you dream about as a kid, playing at Cameron Indoor," Woodworth said. "And they're a great team and we get to play against arguably the best coach that has ever lived, Coach K, so that's going to be a real good test."

Huskies hold off WESTERN WASHINGTON 88-78

SEATTLE (AP) - Playing an exhibition more than two weeks before the start of the regular season, WASHINGTON got the challenge it hoped for from Division II WESTERN WASHINGTON.

And maybe a bit more of a contest than the Huskies expected.

C.J. Wilcox scored 21 points, Andrew Andrews and Abdul Gaddy each added 14, and WASHINGTON held off the defending Division II national champion Vikings 88-78 on Wednesday night.

"First game is always kind of off, a little bit nervous every time you play your first game," Wilcox said. "There were a lot of expectations about what this team was going to be but I thought we came out here and got to see where we were at which is good and what we need to work on."

The Huskies' lone exhibition game before beginning the regular season Nov. 11 became a major headache because the Vikings would not go away. Down by 10 early in the second half, WESTERN WASHINGTON pulled even on three occasions in the final 10 minutes and had possessions with the chance to take the lead but could never pull in front.

Consecutive steals and dunks by Jernard Jarreau and Wilcox in the final 2 minutes gave WASHINGTON an 11-point lead and finally some cushion.

John Allen and Chris Mitchell led the Vikings with 17 points each. The matchup with WASHINGTON was just the precursor to Saturday when WESTERN WASHINGTON travels to Durham, N.C., to face Duke.

Paul Jones added 15 for the Vikings, who returned three starters off last season's team that won the first national title in school history.

"I think we were excited for the entire first half for the environment and not really focusing in on what we're supposed to do," WWU coach Tony Dominguez said.

WASHINGTON took a 10-point lead with 16:43 left, only to see the Vikings respond with a 13-4 run. Allen and Mitchell started the spurt with consecutive 3s and Mitchell capped the run with a left-handed, line-drive bank shot in the lane to cut the Huskies' lead to 59-58 with 13:24 left.

Rico Wilkins later scored five straight points for the Vikings and Austin Bragg's rebound follow with 9:58 left pulled the Vikings even at 65-65. Three times during the next 2 minutes, the Vikings had open looks at 3-pointers with the chance to take the lead but couldn't connect and Aziz N'Diaye's hook in the lane gave WASHINGTON a 69-67 lead with 7:23 left.

Jones scored to pull the Vikings back even at 69, but a pair of free throws by Gaddy and a 3 from Wilcox gave the Huskies a 74-69 lead. Jones' three-point play pulled the Vikings within two, but WASHINGTON ran off 12 of the next 15 points to put away the Vikings.

Scott Suggs added 13 for WASHINGTON.

The exhibition was the debut of the Huskies' new high-post offense. After years of using its athleticism to run a highly successful motion offense, WASHINGTON coach Lorenzo Romar wanted a more stable system to run based around his personnel not only this season but in the future.

At times it was awkward and clunky. When WASHINGTON ran it efficiently, the Huskies got the shots they wanted, either on screens to the giving a path to the basket or open jumpers from the perimeter. WASHINGTON shot 52 percent in the first half and also made its way to the free-throw line plenty, outscoring WESTERN 32-14 at the line.

"I thought our guys did a pretty good job running it. I thought we got some pretty good looks at the basket," Romar said. "... I our guys did a pretty good. I thought we ran it pretty well for an exhibition game."

Huskies beat Western 88-78 in exhibition

By Scott M. Johnson, Herald Writer

SEATTLE -- There was a brief moment during the opening minutes of Wednesday night's exhibition game at Hec Edmundson Pavilion when the upset bid appeared unlikely at best.

No, these upstart Washington Huskies weren't going to possibly give the defending national champions from Bellingham a challenge.

That's how it looked four minutes into Wednesday's exhibition -- not only did the rebuilding University of Washington men's basketball team look overmatched, but the Huskies looked inferior to NCAA Division II champ Western Washington. The Vikings scored the first six points of the game, held an 8-4 lead and all the momentum, and the realization began to set in that one of these teams was an experienced unit with title aspirations...and the other was UW.

The new-look Huskies, with an overhauled offense and revised roles after underclassmen Tony Wroten Jr. and Terrence Ross left early for the NBA, had their hands full for most of the evening before finally restoring order and reminding everyone at Hec Ed that they, not WWU, are the most prestigious basketball program on this side of the state.

The Huskies eventually shook off WWU for an 88-78 win in an exhibition game that won't count toward either team's record.

Because the season hasn't officially started, it could be said that a moral victory was on the line for the Division II team from the north, and Western certainly earned that much. The Vikings rallied back from a nine-point halftime deficit to tie the score three times in the second half. Paul Jones's jumper from the wing tied the score for the final time, at 69 with 6:51 remaining, before UW took the lead for good.

The Huskies got a boost from redshirt freshman Andrew Andrews, who scored nine of his 14 points in the final 3:15 of the first half, but a leg cramp limited him for a long stretch in the second half. Junior C.J. Wilcox helped put the Vikings away down the stretch, with 13 of his game-high 21 points coming after halftime.

WWU senior John Allen, a Mountlake Terrace High School graduate, almost single-handedly got the Vikings back in the game by scoring nine points in the first four minutes of the second half, but his shot went cold down the stretch. Both Allen and teammate Rico Wilkins had open 3-point shots that could have given WWU the lead with less than nine minutes remaining, only to miss.

WWU came out of the gates looking like the more polished team, scoring six unanswered points while the Huskies adjusted to their new high-post offense and looked for scorers in the post-Wroten-and-Ross era. UW finally got things going when 7-footer Aziz N'Diaye posted up down low and dunked on an interior pass from Scott Suggs. The Huskies followed that with an 11-0 run to take a 15-8 lead and led by as many as 11 early in the second half before Allen got going.

WWU finally tied the score at 65-65 with 9:55 remaining in the game, when juco transfer Austin Bragg scored on a putback. The two teams traded baskets twice, then UW's high-post paid off when an N'Diaye screen opened the door for Wilcox's dagger-like 3-pointer from the top of the key for a 74-69 lead with 5:43 left.

Back-to-back fast-break dunks by Jernard Jarreau and Wilcox inside the final 90 seconds helped put the game away.

Afterward, UW assistant coach Brad Jackson got up off the Huskies' bench and exchanged greetings with the Vikings players -- most of whom he coached last season while leading the Vikings to the D-II title.

"I know these kids, and I like to see them do well," said Jackson, who was hired as a UW assistant in August after spending 27 seasons leading the WWU program. "But I want us (the Huskies) to do well to; I wanted to win the game. It was an interesting and unique situation -- one I probably won't be in again."

Huskies head coach Lorenzo Romar was impressed by the Vikings, saying that the test was "really, really good" for UW as it prepares for the Nov. 11 opener against Loyola of Maryland.

The game turned out to be really good for both programs, even though the upstart Vikings were disappointed in the end.

"We wanted to win tonight," WWU senior Chris Mitchell said after the game. "We were successful last year. After winning the championship last year, we're coming in with a lot of confidence this year. We think that, if we play our best ball, there's not anybody that can beat us.

"We played good tonight, but we can play a lot better."

Wilcox's complete game helps Huskies finally pass an early test Scoring off two late turnovers helps Washington beat WWU

By Percy Allen, Seattle Times staff reporter

The Huskies knew working out the kinks in their new offense was going to be problematic and beating Western Washington -- the reigning Division II national basketball champion -- in an exhibition at Alaska Airlines Arena wasn't going to be easy.

After surviving in an 88-78 victory, thanks in part to a huge free-throw disparity and surprising marksmanship at the line, Washington answered many questions about its new high-post offense.

However, the Huskies walked away with questions lingering about their perimeter defense and inability to keep the Vikings off the offensive glass -- both nagging concerns with 2 ½ weeks remaining before the season opener.

"The rebounding thing, we're going to pay close attention to it," UW coach Lorenzo Romar said. "Someone is going to have to step up."

It's pretty much a given center Aziz N'Diaye will lead the Huskies in rebounding and the 7-foot senior center had his way at times against the Vikings, whose tallest player is 6-8.

Washington, though, didn't expect C.J. Wilcox to grab seven rebounds, including four on the offensive end, which were just as impactful as his game-high 21 points.

The junior sharpshooter also collected four steals, dished three assists and delivered the knockout blow in the final minutes of a game that was closer than many expected.

"The point of these exhibition games is to see where we are at and what we need to work on. We have plenty of time," Wilcox said. "Keep working on our defense, keep working on our rebounding and get to where we want to be and keep making progress at the same time."

Wilcox is making an early bid to replace Terrence Ross and Tony Wroten Jr., UW's leading scorers last season, who left school early and were taken in the NBA draft.

He found several favorable spots in the new offense and got open looks off of screens on the wing and outside the arc at the top of key. Wilcox converted 7 of 14 shots and sank 5 of 6 at the free-throw line.

"C.J. Wilcox had an outstanding game," Romar said. "If you take his points away, he still rebounded, stole the ball, deflected the ball. He defended, he took charges -- a really complete game."

Earlier this week, Romar said the Vikings would provide a stiff challenge. Boy, was he ever right about that one. It was a two-point game (74-72) with 4:49 left before Washington finished with a 14-6 run.

Still, the outcome wasn't decided until Jernard Jarreau and Wilcox had back-to-back steals and dunks in the final two minutes.

First, Jarreau poked the ball away from Western Washington's John Allen before racing down the court, collecting a pass from Abdul Gaddy and flushing a two-hand dunk.

On the ensuing possession, Wilcox stripped Rico Wilkins and finished the play with a slam that allowed the crowd of 8,007 to finally breathe easy.

The Huskies received 14 points from Andrew Andrews and Gaddy while Scott Suggs added 13.

Washington converted 32 of 41 free throws (78 percent) while Western Washington was 14 of 17 at the charity stripe.

Western Washington's Tony Dominguez, who coached his first game against his former boss, UW assistant Brad Jackson, didn't criticize the officiating. Instead he bemoaned the Vikings' performance in the first half when UW led 46-37 at halftime.

"I think if we had played better in the first half, we would have got these guys," he said.

But when it mattered most, the Huskies got the defensive stops they needed and held WWU to just two baskets in the final 4:49.

"We responded like a veteran team," Romar said.

WESTERN WASHINGTON 78
min	fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Jones	31	7-13	1-1	1-4	1	3	15
Bragg	29	3-9	2-2	7-10	0	4	8
Mitchell35	5-11	4-6	1-8	2	4	17
Woodworth29	0-3	2-2	3-3	4	3	2
Allen	28	7-15	0-0	0-1	3	3	17
Davis	1	0-0	0-0	0-1	0	0	0
Thorpe	1	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	2	0
Wilkins	24	3-9	1-2	0-1	2	3	9
Turner	14	2-3	0-0	2-3	1	5	4
Severson	8	1-6	4-4	0-1	1	3	6
200	28-70	14-17	15-34	14	30	78
Percentages: FG .400, FT .824. Three-point goals: 8-30, (Jones 0-3, Bragg 0-3, 
Mitchell 3-9, Woodworth 0-1, Allen 3-6, Thorpe 0-1, Wilkins 2-7).
 Team rebounds: 2. Blocked shots: 5, (Jones, Bragg, Mitchell 2, Turner). 
Turnovers: 14, (Jones 3, Bragg, Woodworth 2, Allen 2, Davis, Thorpe, Wilkins 2, Severson 2). 
Steals: 8, (Jones 3, Bragg, Woodworth, Allen, Wilkins, Turner).
WASHINGTON 88
min	fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Simmons	21	1-3	0-0	0-2	1	1	3
N'Diaye	23	3-6	3-8	2-10	1	2	9
Gaddy	27	3-7	8-9	1-3	4	3	14
Suggs	32	3-9	6-6	2-4	2	1	13
Wilcox	31	7-14	5-6	4-7	3	2	21
Stewart	5	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0
Breunig	6	1-2	2-4	1-2	0	2	4
Andrews	25	3-6	6-6	0-5	3	2	14
Jarreau	13	2-3	0-0	0-2	0	1	4
Kemp	17	2-5	2-2	3-5	0	0	6
200	25-55	32-41	14-42	14	14	88
Percentages: FG .455, FT .780. Three-point goals: 6-15, (Simmons 1-2, Gaddy 0-1, 
 Team rebounds: 2. Blocked shots: 4, (N'Diaye, Wilcox, Andrews, Jarreau). 
Turnovers: 14, (Simmons 2, N'Diaye 2, Gaddy 3, Suggs, Wilcox 3, Andrews, Kemp 2).
 Steals: 9, (Suggs 2, Wilcox 4, Breunig, Jarreau, Kemp).
Western Washington	37	41	--	78
Washington	        46	42	--	88

UW Huskies hold off Vikings in basketball exhibition

Washington said it wanted a test during its only exhibition game. It got one.

TODD DYBAS; Tacoma News Tribune Staff writer

Washington said it wanted a test during its only exhibition game. It got one.

Two late steals and dunks helped the Huskies get past Division II defending national champion Western Washington, 88-78, on Wednesday night at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.

Western tied the game four times in the second half but never took the lead. With the game squared at 69, Tacoma's Abdul Gaddy (14 points) made two free throws. C.J. Wilcox followed with a 3-pointer from the top of the key to push Washington in front by five and give it a lead it would not give back. Wilcox led all scorers with 21 points and added seven rebounds.

"We got a lot out of this game," Washington coach Lorenzo Romar said. "I thought our offense was a little ahead of our defense. But, I think that will come with time."

Washington had trouble containing Western point guard John Allen (17 points), who transferred to the Vikings from Washington State. After switching high on ball picks all night, Washington decided to trap Allen out of a timeout with 1:40 left, and the Huskies leading 82-75. That approach forced a turnover and resulted in dunks on consecutive possessions by Jernard Jarreau and Wilcox to push Washington in front 86-75.

Washington vaulted into the lead behind an 11-0 run midway through the first half following a sluggish start.

But Gaddy picked up his third foul with 5:24 left. That gave redshirt freshman Andrew Andrews an extended opportunity. He scored 12 first-half points on 3-for-5 shooting, including two 3-pointers, helping Washington to a 30-25 halftime lead.

Andrews finished the night with 14 points and was one of four Huskies in double figures. He was also a needed dose of aggression.

Aziz N'Diaye scored nine points and added 10 rebounds. Desmond Simmons started at power forward for Washington but had a mediocre night. Simmons had three points and two rebounds in 21 minutes.

Romar said the first thing the Huskies will work on out of this game is defensive rebounding. Undersized Western had 15 offensive rebounds.

"That is an area of concern," Romar said. "Somebody's going to have to emerge."