University of Washington
2-1
Northern Arizona
1-4
Strong Defensive Outing Helps UW Roll Past NAU, 92-58
November 20, 2016 | Men's Basketball
SEATTLE (AP) -- Markelle Fultz had 16 points, seven rebounds and eight assists and the Washington defense awoke in its 92-58 win over Northern Arizona on Sunday night.
The Huskies (2-1) set the tone defensively on the Lumberjacks' (1-4) opening two possessions, one ending in a Malik Dime block and the other a turnover forced by Matisse Thybulle, the first of five from the Lumberjacks before the under-12 timeout and 16 total.
"We've improved (since Yale)," Washington coach Lorenzo Romar said. "There is more of a sense of urgency out there. That means our team's gonna be better defensively. There's more of an awareness, more of a want-to. Still got a long ways to go, but definitely made an improvement."
Markelle Fultz made 6 of 9 from the field, including two 3-pointers and finished with 16 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. It was his first game not scoring at least 30 points, but taking only nine shots and focusing on getting the Huskies' big men involved was part of the game plan going in, Romar said. Washington finished with 50 points in the paint, compared to 24 for NAU.
The Lumberjacks remained within striking distance into the second half, but Washington put them away in the game's final 13 minutes. The Huskies opened up a 38-point lead, going on 33-10 run before inserting the last men on their bench for the final three minutes.
"We started denying their big men when they came up to run the high-low and reverse the ball," Noah Dickerson said of what keyed their 23-point run. "Once we started to do that, they didn't run any offense. It was basically one-on-one or a ball screen. . We were off to the races."
Dickerson scored 12 and grabbed eight rebounds, Thybulle had 15 points for the Huskies.
Felix Rivera-Vega scored 11 and Ako Kaluna finished with 10 points and five rebounds for NAU.
BIG PICTURE
The Huskies turned in their best performance of the young season, proving they can put away a team, albeit an outclassed one. After giving up 98 points to Yale and 88 to Cal State Fullerton, holding NAU to 58 is a welcome sight for Lorenzo Romar. The Lumberjacks' shooting percentage rarely climbed above 40 percent all game, finishing with 20-of-65 shooting (30.8 percent).
HE SAID IT
"If I were a betting man, I'd bet you a pack of Red Vines that he will." — Romar on if Fultz will record a triple-double before he leaves Washington. He came up two assists and three rebounds shy on Sunday.
UP NEXT
The Huskies finish up a stretch of four straight home games to open the season against Long Beach State at 8 p.m. PT on Tuesday before heading to Las Vegas for the Global Sports MTE, where NAU is also a participant.
