Late-game woes surface again as Washington men lose nail-biter to Cal

SEATTLE – Late-game execution has been a problem all season for the Washington men’s basketball team and one the biggest reasons why UW had fallen short of preseason expectations.

On Saturday, the Huskies played another nail-biter and came up short in the final seconds of a heartbreaking 82-80 defeat against California at Alaska Airlines Arena.

Washington led 80-79 and double-teamed Cal’s Jaylon Tyson, who found Jalen Celestine on the perimeter for a 3-pointer with 5 seconds left.

UW’s Sahvir Wheeler took the inbounds pass and raced toward the basket but missed a layup as time expired.

Keion Brooks Jr. scored 26 points, Koren Johnson had 16, Wheeler had 15 and Moses Wood 11 for the Huskies (14-12, 7-8 Pac-12).

The Huskies are 4-8 in games decided by five points or less.

In their first matchup, UW beat Cal on a last-second 3-pointer from Wood.

Tyson scored a game-high 28 points for the Golden Bears (11-15, 7-8).

Five regular-season games remain for Washington, including a two-game trip this week to Arizona State on Thursday followed by Saturday’s game against No. 5 Arizona.