By Danny Williams Posted on

Washington falls to Washington State in exhibition matchup

Washington, playing Washington State, in October? For the Washington Huskies and head coach Danny Sprinkle, schedule constraints and the obvious conference difference meant this historic rivalry would take place in the preseason on Sunday afternoon.

Despite the game not counting for any stats or records, it seemed like someone forgot to mention that to the players. In an atmosphere that felt like a vintage (wow) Pac-12 matchup, the game went down to the wire, with the Cougars eking out the victory in Seattle, Wash. 84-80.

“It was good to have that as an exhibition game to have that intensity, it kind of feels like a real game, so it was good for our guys to go through that, and we’ll learn from it.” Sprinkle said.

Late game blunders

Washington found itself down eight with just over a minute remaining in the second half, Washington forward Nikola Dzepina made two free throws and the free-throw game commenced. Both teams went back-and-forth at the line until Washington guard Steele Venters drilled a three to cut the Washington State lead to three with 15 seconds remaining.

Dzepina fouled WSU’s Casey Jones with 14 seconds left. Jones missed both foul shots and opened the door for Washington to tie the game. UW forward LeJuan Watts got a look at a three-pointer in the corner, but his shot was blocked. Game, set, match.

Even before the free throws, Washington missed three-straight field goals and had three turnovers in that span as well. UW will have its fair share of close games throughout the season, and learning how to execute down the stretch will be a constant point of emphasis during the season.

“It’s good that it’s an exhibition game because there’s a lot of stuff that we’ll learn,” Sprinkle said. “You talk about winning on the margins, and [WSU] did that tonight.”

Hot and cold offense

For the first seven minutes of the game Washington looked great offensively. The Huskies held a 10-point lead with 12:47 left in the first half, 22-12. After that, UW went on almost an eight-minute field goal draught and ended the half trailing by one, 38-37.

The second half followed a similar pattern. In the first seven minutes, Washington embarked on a 13-5 run and grabbed a seven point lead. From there, Washington’s 50-43 lead turned into a 52-all ballgame and Washington State never looked back.

In total, Washington shot 39.3% (22-56 FG) from the field and a dismal 26.1% (6-23 FG) from three. Watts, Dzepina, and Sommerville combined for 63 of UW’s 80 points. Without a steady diet of points from the guards, Washington couldn’t sustain any rhythm offensively.

“Our guards have to play better, for some of them it was the first time playing in this gym in front of a crowd, but we still have to shoot the ball better,” Sprinkle said. “Our guards were 5-25 and had 10 turnovers, and we only had two in the first half, but we got sloppy in the second half.”

Size an issue on the glass

Losing the Nation’s leading rebounder in Hannes Steinbach and center Franck Kepnang meant Washington would have to rebound on a by-committee basis in the 2026-2027 season. The rebounds, unfortunately, didn’t magically grab themselves, and Washington opened the door for 22 WSU second-chance points. 16 of WSU’s second-chance points coming in the second half.

“To be honest, I think we got a little sloppy with the ball, we had a lot more turnovers in the second half, I feel like that’s what really got [WSU] going,” center Lathan Sommerville said. “And then second chance points, we just have to finish plays. Our first shot defense was pretty good, we just have to finish the play.”

Dzepina, to his credit, hauled in a game-high 12 rebounds. The next closest Husky, Watts, only grabbed six. With most UW lineups resembling more of a four-guard look until bigs Wini Braga and Mady Traore make their way back into basketball shape, all five on the court have to crash the glass, which didn’t happen Sunday afternoon.

No Ryan Beasley proves to be an issue

Washington’s presumed starting point guard Ryan Beasley has been out with a concussion and didn’t play vs. Washington State. Beasley was the lead guard for San Francisco last season and averaged 13.6-points and four-assists a game for the Dons.

Beasley’s veteran presence and stability put the offense in a rut and forced Nevada transfer Tayshawn Comer to play 39 of the 40 minutes on Wednesday. Without Beasley, Washington will look to Watts to facilitate and rely on the continued progression of Dzepina as a passer.

“I feel like we’re a lot more in control, we’re a lot more of a connected group, [Ryan’s] one of our leaders, and I think we’ll take care of the ball a lot better as well,” Sommerville said when asked about Beasley’s absence.

Quick Notes

  • Watts led all scorers with 28 points (7-12 FG, 12-13 FT).
  • Ronnie Harrison scored 23 points (8-9 FG, 6-7 FT) to lead WSU.
  • Venters and Parker Friedrichsen combined for three points (1-6 FG) in 25 minutes.

Discover more from Cascadiasports.net

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Leave a Reply