By Andrew Bailie Posted on

Washington falls short of a comeback, loses 82-80 to UCLA

The Washington Huskies took on the UCLA Bruins in their first conference game of the season on Wednesday night. Washington wanted to get back in the win column after losing to Colorado in Palm Desert. The Huskies received a boost to their lineup against UCLA, as F Hannes Steinbach returned from injury. Unfortunately, Steinbach’s return was not enough to stop a hungry Bruins team.

Washington and UCLA battle back and forth in the first half

The Huskies jumped out to an early 16-5 lead over the Bruins. Hannes Steinbach did most of the scoring early in his return from injury. He finished the half with 11 points, shooting a perfect 6/6 from the field. Zoom Diallo had nine points and shot 4/7 for the half. UCLA responded with a 16-2 run to go back in front. Skyy Clark led the Bruins with 15 first-half points, going 5/5 from three. Washington and UCLA battled back and forth for the rest of the half. The Huskies dominated the glass, out-rebounding UCLA 20-8, and outscored them in second-chance points 11-3. The Bruins kept pace by forcing 10 turnovers and scoring 13 points off those turnovers. UCLA’s pesky defense and Clark’s shooting gave the Bruins a 36-32 halftime lead.

Washington falls into a second-half hole

The Bruins did most of their damage from the outside in the first half. In the second half, UCLA did most of its scoring inside the paint. F Tyler Bilodeau led the Bruins with 20 points in the half, G Skyy Clark had 10 points (finishing with 25), and G Donovan Dent scored 11. The Huskies struggled to make stops on the defensive end for most of the second half against UCLA. The Bruins appeared to be on track for a blowout win, leading 76-60 with 4:45 left in the game.

The Huskies come up just short of an improbable 16-point comeback

Hannes Steinbach led the way with nine points, as Washington rallied from 16 down. In the final minutes of the game, the Huskies made clutch stops, allowing them to get back into the game. Quimari Peterson made a three-pointer with 36.7 seconds to bring the Huskies within one point of UCLA. With enough time to make a stop, the Huskies decided not to foul to extend the game. Unfortunately, Zoom Diallo fouled Skyy Clark on a three-point shot with 14 seconds remaining. Clark hit all three free throws to give UCLA a four-point lead. Diallo bounced back by making an and-one to cut the lead back to one. The Bruins’ Donovan Dent made one of two after he was fouled. In the final seconds, Diallo attempted a three-pointer at the buzzer, but missed, as the Huskies lost 82-80.

Turnovers prove costly for Washington

The Huskies struggled taking care of the basketball against UCLA, committing 15 turnovers. The Bruins took advantage of those turnovers, scoring 20 points off takeaways. Danny Sprinkle spoke after the game about the problems his team had with giving the ball away:

“And then playing smart, like 15 turnovers against UCLA, you can’t do that. You’re not going to beat a Mick Cronin-coached team, you know, if you have 15 turnovers, and they scored 20 points off those turnovers. You know, I thought, you know, they did a good job going to their zone, you know which they don’t go to very much. You know, I thought we were playing really well offensively early. They went to that zone, and we just got stagnant”, Sprinkle said.

Washington’s issues with ball movement were a problem against Colorado last week. Early in the season, the Huskies have dealt with injuries and have been unable to incorporate creative offensive sets into games. Washington once again struggled with another physical defensive team in UCLA and made mistakes offensively. In a game decided by two points, turnovers ultimately made the difference between winning and losing.

Hannes Steinbach dazzles in return to the Huskies

F Hannes Steinbach made a huge impact in his first game back for Washington since November 15th. After missing three games, Steinbach returned to the lineup and scored 29 points against UCLA. He also shot 11/12 from the field and had 10 rebounds, posting his fourth double-double of the year. After the game, Danny Sprinkle had this to say about his freshman forward:

“He’s a great player, you know, he’s a great player. I thought early on he was too unselfish, you know, even when they went to the zone, he was catching it and spraying it out to guys for shots where he wasn’t looking at the rim and going. And once he started attacking and we were able to get the ball to the high post to him, you know, that’s when we started scoring some baskets. But he’s, he’s just a damn good basketball player. And you could see how much we’ve missed him in the last three games”, Sprinkle said.

Hannes Steinbach gave the Huskies a chance to win against the Bruins. His magnificent effort helped Washington fight back into the game, down 16. The Huskies can continue to rely on Steinbach to be a force on offense, as he keeps finding ways to score.

Washington still trying to gel as a team as conference play begins

The Huskies’ game against UCLA was the first game with Desmond Claude and Hannes Steinbach both healthy. Washington is also still waiting for F Bryson Tucker and F Jacob Ognacevic to return from injury. The more the Huskies play together, the better the team will get:

“The good thing is were not even close to playing our best basketball. Our guys are still learning each other. We’ve had funky lineups. And like I said, I’ll give our guys credit for coming and competing tonight and almost pulling it off, but, you know, almost isn’t good enough”, said Sprinkle.

Washington’s ability to fight back from a 16-point deficit was impressive. The Huskies continue to show resiliency despite still dealing with injuries. As Washington’s players continue to play together more, the goal will be to play consistently well for the entire game, rather than just at the end of games. The Huskies face another big conference test on Saturday at USC.

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