SEATTLE, WA – Kane Brooks Jr. scored 18 points and had 12 rebounds as the Washington Huskies defeated the UC San Diego Sea Dragons 83-56 on Tuesday night at Alaska Airlines Arena.
“I thought our guys adapted really well,” said Huskies head coach Mike Hopkins. We played good defense and rebounded well, but we really picked up the tempo and stepped up our offense in the second half.
Washington (4-2) had four players in double figures, including Kentucky graduate transfer Sahvir Wheeler, who had 17 points and eight assists. Reserves Braxton Meah scored 14 points and Koren Johnson had 12.
The Huskies jumped out to an early lead thanks to back-to-back scores from Brooks and Moses Wood. UW extended its lead to 20-9 with just over eight minutes left in the first half.
Skyline closed the gap to five points with 2:09 left in the half, but the Huskies went on a mini 10-4 run to take the lead back and take a 34-24 lead into the intermission.
WashU continued to control the tempo in the second half, gradually increasing its lead. Anthony Holland hit a three-pointer with 8:31 left in the game to make it 60-39, the first time the Huskies had led by 20 points on the night.
The Huskies were excellent on the glass, grabbing 54 rebounds in the game, which was key to their win. It was the team’s third game this season in which they scored 80 or more points, bringing their season average to 82.7 points per game.
Washington will travel to Las Vegas this Saturday to face No. 20 Colorado State at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. ET.