The Huskies help forward Noah Dickerson up after he fell to the floor in Washington's first round win over Boise State in the NIT. The Huskies saw their season end in Moraga, California, losing in the second round of the tournament 85-81.
The Washington men’s basketball team went into its NIT second round matchup with Saint Mary’s looking to knock off the No.1 seed in its region. Unfortunately, despite a valiant comeback effort at the end, the Huskies (21-13) couldn’t overcome the Gaels (30-5), falling 85-81 and exiting into the offseason.
Saint Mary’s outrebounded Washington 31-21, had seven more assists, and made six more free throws. But the UW had three more steals and four more blocks, statistical signifiers of how the defense made a comeback attempt possible.
Junior forward Noah Dickerson spearheaded the offensive attack, as he scored 22 points on 6-for-8-inch shooting and added nine rebounds. Four other players scored in double figures for Washington, including junior guard Matisse Thybulle, who had 13 points and four steals.
Saint Mary’s sophomore guard Jordan Ford led all scorers with 26 points, and junior center Evan Fitzner scored 20 points off the bench.
Washington did not get off to a good start in the first couple minutes. Thybulle blocked a shot by Ford on Saint Mary’s first offensive possession, but Ford got it back and swung it to senior forward Calvin Hermanson in the corner, who knocked down an open three. The Huskies missed their first four shots, including a missed layup by Dickerson and a missed three by Thybulle.
But two minutes and 39 seconds in to the game, the UW finally got on the board. Off another missed three by Thybulle, Dickerson got the offensive rebound and put the ball right back up and in. A minute and a half later, freshman guard Jaylen Nowell drove hard to rim and got a layup to go with the left hand.
But the Gaels, who were 17-1 at home going into the game, went up 12-4 early via another open three from Hermanson off an offensive rebound by sophomore guard Tanner Krebs.
Thybulle brought some much needed energy late in the first. After junior guard David Crisp missed a three off a screen by sophomore forward Sam Timmins, the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year swooped in to steal a pass by Ford and got an easy layup. On Washington’s next possession, he nailed a jumper from the top of the key.
Freshman guard Naz Carter hit a three with 38 seconds remaining in the quarter, and Washington ended the period down 20-13. Carter connected again from long distance for the UW’s first bucket in the second quarter, then Thybulle, in a case of deja vu, got yet another steal and easy layup.
Despite Washington’s improved offensive production in the second quarter, Saint Mary’s kept the UW at bay thanks to its elite passing ability. On a couple of plays, Gaels big men hit guards cutting down the lane for easy layups, and with 2:05 to go in the second quarter, Fitzner dished the ball out to a wide open Hermanson for his third three of the half.
The Huskies made a nice run to end the second quarter. Dickerson got a couple of layups to go inside, Thybulle drained another mid-range jumper, and junior forward Dominic Green made his first three of the night with 49 seconds left in the half to cut the Gaels lead to six going into the break.
Saint Mary’s burst out of the gate to start the third quarter, as senior center Jock Landale converted a layup off a Dickerson turnover, and then Krebs made the Gaels’ fifth three pointer of the night.
They weren’t done. After Nowell made a straight on three to narrow the gap to eight, Saint Mary’s responded with threes on back-to-back possessions by Ford and Hermanson.
Once the Gaels got the threes going, they then started to produce inside. The Huskies had been daring Fitzner to beat them from the high post all game, and on consecutive trips he drained two mid-range jumpers from the same spot, bringing his total to 18 points on 7-for-9 shooting after averaging just 4.7 points per game this season.
Saint Mary’s offensive barrage sent Washington into the fourth quarter down 14 points. But the Huskies quickly mounted a comeback effort.
Dickerson went to work early in the quarter. He drained a short jumper off a Nowell assist, and after another steal by Thybulle, he scored once again inside to cut the Gaels’ lead to 10.
Fitzner missed a short jumper, and Carter wasted no time after he corralled the defensive rebound, going coast-to-coast for the layup. Thybulle and Carter each drained threes on Washington’s next two possessions to cut the deficit to four, before Landale, playing with four fouls, made a layup to make the Saint Mary’s lead six with 5:40 to go.
Dickerson then made two free throws to cut the lead back down to four before Landale made another layup. Crisp hit a spot-up three from the right corner, and on the ensuing defensive possession he drew a foul on Hermanson.
A minute later, Thybulle stole a Fitzner pass and took it back the other way, this time for a two-hand jam.
The Huskies made a surprising switch to man-to-man defense with a minute and a half to go, and initially it worked. Carter emphatically blocked a Ford layup, and Dickerson got a bucket to cut it to three again. But on the next possession, Carter lost Ford and he drained an open three off a shot fake.
Nowell quickly answered with a three of his own at the other end. The Gaels broke the Huskies’ press on the next possession, and were forced to foul twice to put Ford on the free throw line with 12.8 seconds left.
He drained both, and even though Nowell got a quick dunk with seven seconds later, the Gaels had enough distance between themselves and the Huskies to secure a win.
Although Washington did not advance, the team won over 20 games for the first time since the 2011-12 season under first-year head coach Mike Hopkins. And with another year of the Hopkins system in place, combined with his new recruits for next season, the future of Huskies basketball looks much, much brighter than it did at this time last year.
Reach reporter Chris Angkico at [email protected]. Twitter: @chrisangkico