University of Washington
12-9,4-6Pac-12
Utah
14-7,5-5Pac-12
Brooks Jr. Paces Strong Offense In UW's 98-73 Win Over Utah
January 27, 2024 | Men's Basketball
SEATTLE (AP) -- Keion Brooks Jr. scored 27 points, Paul Mulcahy added a season-high 18 on 7-of-9 shooting and Washington beat Utah 98-73 Saturday night at Alaska Airlines Arena.
"Just a great team effort," Head Coach Mike Hopkins said following the win. "We got impacts from everybody. We were connected. We executed our defensive game plan tremendously."
Moses Wood scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds and Sahvir Wheeler finished with 12 points, 10 assists, three steals and no turnovers for Washington (12-9, 4-6 Pac-12). Wood made 6 of 10 from the field and 4 of 8 from behind the arc.
Wheeler is only the second player in the country to have multiple games with 10 assists and no turnovers this season and the first Husky since Isaiah Thomas to have three double-doubles (points and assists) in a season.
Wood hit a three-pointer to give Washington the lead for good with 17:45 left in the first half and Mulcahy made another from behind the arc about three minutes later to cap a 12-1 run that made it 16-5. Braxton Meah threw down three dunks in a two-and-a-half-minute span, the last of which gave the Huskies a 15-point lead with 9:23 remaining before halftime.
A Utah 10-2 run trimmed the deficit to 37-30 about six minutes later, but Meah answered with a dunk before Mulcahy made a layup, stole a pass that led to a Wheeler layup and then hit a three-pointer that gave Washington a 16-point halftime lead.
With his fourth assist tonight, @sahvir_ now ranks 60th on the all-time list, passing Kenny @TheJetOnTNT Smith
— Washington Men's Basketball (@UW_MBB) January 28, 2024
?? ESPN2 #TougherTogether x @nbaontnt pic.twitter.com/o8GOCUTI8A
The Huskies scored 11 of the first 12 second-half points to make it 57-31 with 17:37 remaining.
UW held Branden Carlson and Gabe Madsen to a combined 11 points.
Brooks recorded his 100th career block, 700th career rebound and 1,600th career point, joining a group of just ten active players with such numbers alongside 100 career assists.
Washington shot 57% (39 of 68) from the field, hit 11 of 24 (46%) from three-point range and committed just nine turnovers. The Huskies finished with seven steals and scored 23 points off 14 Utah turnovers.
Washington took its biggest lead of the game when Anthony Holland hit a three-pointer that made it 98-62. The 25-point margin of victory is the largest by either team in the all-time series and largest by UW in a conference game since 2020.
Washington plays the last of three straight home games next Saturday in the Boeing Apple Cup Series opener against in-state rival Washington State. Tickets are available.
Follow @UW_MBB on Instagram and X/Twitter for the latest on the Dawgs.
