Huskies sloppy but dominant in exhibition blowout

Had they been playing anyone else, it might have been closer. But they weren't. So it wasn't. The Washington men's basketball team looked every bit the part of a squad feeling its way through its first exhibition game last night against Division-II Central Washington. And they made it through well enough, experimenting with player groupings and keeping everyone healthy in an easy 77-48 victory over the Wildcats at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. But, this wasn't exactly the kind of championship performance that will be expected from the team later this season: The No. 13 Huskies were pretty inconsistent throughout, relying more on their speed and superior athleticism than anything else. "We just wanted to come out and get better as a team," said UW forward Quincy Pondexter. The UW also was obviously trying to experiment with different personnel, making it a little tough to establish any kind of real rhythm offensively. The Huskies shot just 31.7 percent in the first half but led comfortably the whole way because the Wildcats shot the ball even worse. Way worse, actually. CWU was 4-27 from the field in the first half -- that's 14.8 percent, which wouldn't even be impressive if it were a breathalyzer reading - and went more than five minutes without a field goal on two separate occasions. They were 9-21 from the free-throw line, finishing 15-35. They turned the ball over 12 times in the first half and 21 times total. They just weren't very good. At all. "I was pleasantly surprised at the energy that we came out with tonight," head coach Lorenzo Romar said, adding that the team had practiced nine consecutive days and he was unsure if they'd have any legs left. They did, especially on the defensive end. Venoy Overton pestered Central's guards in the backcourt, and the rest of the UW defense was overplaying passing lanes and forcing turnovers that led to a couple of easy run-out buckets. "That was our main goal and focus," Pondexter said, "and I think that turned out pretty well." Washington proved itself superior early and often, a showtime dunk from freshman Clarence Trent late in the game adding a nice exclamation point. And, true freshman Abdul Gaddy, though he struggled with foul trouble, made a couple of head-turning passes and finished with a team-high six assists in 24 minutes. So the Huskies put it away early and took a 43-18 lead into halftime, led by a couple of late 3-pointers from Isaiah Thomas that really made things look as ugly as they were. Thomas started 2-8 from the field and missed his first three free throws, but still wound up scoring 14 points in the first half. He finished with 18, and Pondexter came alive early in the second half, propelling himself to 15 points and seven rebounds. Perhaps most alarming - and, again, that's a relative term in a 29-point win - is that the Huskies still look, well, pretty bad at the free-throw line. They made just 18 of 37 for the game, a sign that there may still be some deficiencies in that area. "Might be the first game jitters," Thomas said. "We'll get used to it," Pondexter added. Everyone also agreed that the foul total - the Huskies were whistled for 26 - was the most glaring issue. "We fouled too much," Romar said. "We've got to be able to defend without fouling so much. Our technique has to be better." Said Thomas: "We've just got to calm down on the fouls. Good teams, the game would be a different situation with how many fouls we gave them and how many free throws they had on us." But there's time to fix all of that. Washington's first regular-season game isn't until Nov. 13, against Wright State, and the Huskies have been hampered by the fact that most of the team has had the flu at one point or another during the last month. Reach Sports Editor Christian Caple at sports@dailyuw.com

Huskies sloppy but dominant in exhibition blowout

Disruptor interrupts Psych 210, professor and students chase man on to Red Square

2025 Seattle and King County primary election endorsements

UW mechanical engineering students are now required to pay $250 quarterly fee to participate in department-affiliated RSOs

College Inn Pub reopens under new ownership