Game Daily: This week in Husky history -- Romar splits first Pac-12 series

Dec 30, 2015, 6:56 PM

In the 2002-03 season, current head coach Lorenzo Romar’s first season with the Washington men’s basketball team, UCLA came to Seattle for the then-Pac-10 conference opener for both teams. Heading into the matchup against the Bruins on Jan. 2, 2003, the Huskies had won five of their previous six games. However, in front of a crowd of 7,591 at Hec Edmundson Pavilion, the Huskies fell to the Bruins 77-67. UCLA had 29 turnovers but ended at 49.1 percent shooting, 28-of-57. The Huskies (5-5, 0-1 Pac-10) shot just 24.2 percent in the first half and left the court at halftime down 37-29. They came back and scored 10 of the first 12 points in the second half before a 41-all tie early in the second half where the Bruins pulled ahead. Guard Nate Robinson sparked the crowd with a three-point play for his first score of the game with just under seven minutes left. Forward Doug Wrenn brought the score within nine points with less than four minutes on the clock after making a free throw, but the Huskies were never able to take the field. The UW finished 33.1 percent from the field, shooting 21-of-63, including 2-of-12 from the 3-point line. “We came in here with a lot of momentum and a lot of confidence,” Romar told The Seattle Times. “I give our guys a lot of credit in terms of how hard they played. … UCLA just had a lot of long-limbed guys who were able to get to a lot of shots, bother a lot of our shots or distract us at times. We had not faced that this year.” On Jan. 4, the UW faced USC and gave Romar his first Pac-10 win with the Huskies in a 76-72 comeback victory. A put-back basket from forward Bobby Jones with only three seconds left on the clock was the game-winner for the Huskies. “I know this is only one game, but seeing the guys in the locker room when the game was over was very exciting because they know they laid it all out on the line,” Romar told The Seattle Times. “They won the right way. They stuck together and did not point fingers. It was exciting to see the guys celebrating as a team.” After being down 21 points in the first half, the UW had a late surge to pull the score within 10 points, ending with a layup from guard Will Conroy to close out the half. “Coach Romar said [at halftime] this was an alley fight. The fighters have to step up,” Conroy told The Seattle Times. “[Romar] said, ‘We live for these kinds of games. We’ve got to be the most bruised up.’ I know tomorrow, I’m going to pay for it.” In the final four minutes the lead changed five times, and with just over 30 seconds on the clock, the game was tied up at 72, giving the Huskies one last chance to pull ahead. The Huskies went on to finish 10-17 overall and 5-13 in the Pac-10 in Romar’s first year. Romar is in his 14th season as head coach at the UW this year and is the Pac-12’s longest tenured coach. He has had six NCAA tournament appearances, three Sweet 16’s, three Pac-10 tournament championships, two regular season conference titles, and two NIT appearances with the Huskies. Conroy, after playing at the UW from 2001 to 2005, has returned to the UW this year as an assistant coach. He holds the UW record for all-time assists leader with 515. Reach Editor-in-Chief Kathryn Altena at sports@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @kkaltena

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