The Washington Huskies used a strong start and steady second half to fend off the Washington State Cougars, 81-69, Friday night at Beasley Coliseum.
Washington jumped out early and never relinquished control. Sophomore guard Wesley Yates III scored 15 of his 26 points in the first half, helping the Huskies build a 44-30 lead at the break.
Teammate Zoom Diallo added 20 points for Washington. The Cougars couldn’t get going early. They converted just 12 of 36 shots in the first half (33.3 %).
WSU made a late push in the second half, outscoring Washington 39-37 after intermission, and even going on a 25-13 run at one point during the second half. It wasn’t enough to erase the deficit.
“It was another tough pill to swallow,” David Riley said. “We had a good shot at it, we did some good things in the second half. We just have to make sure we aren’t shooting ourselves in the foot.”
With the win, Washington improved to 3-1; the Cougars fell to 1-3.
Key Takeaways:
Washington’s length and rebounding were an advantage, including a strong double-double (14 points, 13 rebounds) from Hannes Steinbach.
Washington is leading the series 190-111 and has won the last three meetings.
WSU’s shooting from long range remained a weakness: the Cougars hit only 9 of 31 three-point attempts.
