Washington Huskies Still Can’t Defend, Fall to Arizona State
By Ben Renner
The Washington Huskies dropped another Pac-12 matchup on the road, falling 86-75 to Arizona State in Tempe. Another game, another poor defensive display.
Shannon Evans II scored 25 points, Tra Holder added another 23 points, with all but two of them coming in the second half, as the Arizona State Sun Devils held off the Washington Huskies 86-75.
With the loss, the Washington Huskies drop to 2-6 in the Pac-12 and have lost four of their past five. The Sun Devils ended a four-game losing streak in front of their home fans in Tempe.
The Huskies simply had no answer for Holder or Evans, especially in the second half. Entering halftime down 15 points, they needed lockdown defense in the second half to have a chance. It didn’t happen.
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Lorenzo Romar‘s team (For how long, despite an excellent recruiting class next year?) made a run soon after halftime, during which I’m sure the Huskies’ coach pleaded with his Dawgs to defend. With 12:17 left to play, the Washington Huskies cut the deficit to three, trailing only 50-47.
But in spite of super frosh guard Markelle Fultz, the Sun Devils held off the Huskies expertly. Holder drained three straight three-pointers to give Arizona State a 69-54 lead with 6:10 left in the game.
Fultz continued his rampage through the Pac-12 with 28 points on 11-for-23 shooting, eight rebounds, and nine assists. He answered the call in the second half, scoring 20 in the period. He came into the matchup averaging 33.7 points per game over his past three contests, and he remains the Pac-12 scoring leader at 23.4 points per game.
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The Huskies will take on the seventh-ranked Arizona Wildcats as their road trip through the desert continues on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.