Brooks scores 26, Wheeler has 16, and Washington holds off Oregon State 79-72

Jan 6, 2024, 08:58 pm

SEATTLE -- — Keion Brooks Jr. scored 26 points, Sahvir Wheeler added 16, and Washington defeated Oregon State 79-72 on Saturday.

Washington's 16-0 first half run put the Huskies (9-6, 1/3 Pac-12) in front and they held on throughout the second half, despite a late challenge led by Jordan Pope of the Beavers (9-6, 1-3).

Oregon State missed its first three free throws of the second half and didn't have a successful free throw until Pope hit a pair with 3:17 remaining. Those were the first two points of a six-point run that got the Beavers within 71-65 heading to the final two minutes.

After Wilhelm Breidenbach made two free throws for the Huskies, Pope hit a stepback 3-pointer, Brooks scored at the rim and Pope hit another stepback 3 to get Oregon State within 75-71 with 35 seconds remaining. The Huskies, who had a 19-point advantage at the free-throw line, then went 4-for-4 at the line to close out the win.

Washington made 29 of 33 free throws (88%) and Oregon State made 10 of 15 (66.7%).

Pope finished with 29 points on 10-for-17 shooting that included 5 of 10 3-pointers. Tyler Bilodeau added 21 points and seven rebounds. Between them they made 18 of 30 shots, accounting for just over 50% of OSU's 58 field goal attempts.

Brooks and Wheeler accounted for half of Washington's shot attempts, going 16 for 24 between the two of them. Breidenbach (7-for-7) and Koren Johnson (8-for-10) feasted at the line and both reached double figures, Breidenbach with 11 points and Johnson with 10. Breidenbach had eight rebounds.

Oregon State took an early 11-4 lead before Washington caught up at 14-all. Justin Rochelin made a layup and followed it up with a 3-pointer to give OSU a five-point lead. Trailing 21-16, the Huskies went on a 16-0 run in which six players scored and they led 32-21 with 4 1/2 minutes to go. Oregon State scored the last four points of the half and Washington led 38-33 at the break.

It was the 311th meeting between the teams, the third most contested series in Division I. Washington has won every game in Seattle since the 2003-04 season.

Both teams are at home on Thursday in their next games: Washington vs. Arizona State, and Oregon State vs. Stanford.

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