Washington men continue streak vs. Seattle U but needs 2 overtimes to do it
SEATTLE – The Huskies worked extra for this one.
Down two points in regulation, Sahvir Wheeler emerged from a scrum beneath the basket and hurried up a contested putback that beat the buzzer and forced overtime.
Trailing by two in the extra period, Keion Brooks Jr. banked in a short jumper to extend the game once again.
In the second OT, Wheeler worked his magic beneath the rim for a couple of layups in traffic that gave the Washington men’s basketball team a gritty, hard-fought 100-99 nonconference victory over crosstown rival Seattle Redhawks.
Washington has won 18 games in a row against SU, a 45-year-old streak that began Nov. 28, 1978.
Brooks scored with a game-high 22 points while Wheeler finished with 19 points and 14 assists. Koren Johnson added 14 points, Franck Kepnang 12 and Moses Wood 11 for UW, which improved to 7-3.
Johnson, who started in place of fifth-year guard Wheeler, matched up defensively against Cameron Tyson in the first half and had difficulty slowing him down.
Tyson converted three of five three-pointers in the first half while Paris Dawson canned all four of his long-range attempts to lead the Redhawks to a 47-33 halftime lead.
SU built a 16-point bulge (49-33) early in the second half and feasted on the Huskies inside with a punishing attack led by highflying Seyi Reiley who thrilled the crowd with an alley-oop slam dunk over a late-arriving Kepnang.
At the other end, Kepnang flushed a slam in traffic and landed awkwardly before falling to the court with 16:53 remaining. After a few minutes, he walked off with trainers and did not return.
The Redhawks led 66-56 with 10 minutes left when the Huskies began a 9-2 run to close to 68-65 following Wheeler’s free throw.
Minutes later, Johnson sank two free throws to cut UW’s deficit to 78-76 with 2:01 left.
Alex Schumacher appeared to give SU the win in regulation following a difficult short with 10 seconds left. However, Wheeler’s putback at the other end saved the Huskies.
The Redhawks went up 92-87 in the extra period when Brooks drained a three-pointer to cut their lead to two points with 1:06 left. Seconds later, he banked in a jumper to tie it 92-92.
Schumacher had 20 points, Tyson 18 and Brandton Chatfield 17 for SU, which fell to 6-5.
On Wednesday, Seattle plays Louisiana Tech at the Redhawk Center and Washington plays Eastern Washington at Alaska Airlines Arena.