Huskies Finish Off Idaho State, Turn to Tougher Competition

The UW schedule becomes considerably more difficult following 35-point win.

Christmas was still eight days away, but the University of Washington basketball team on Saturday night opened the last of its holiday gifts, tearing the ribbon and wrapping off Idaho State and beating the overmatched Big Sky team 90-55.

This marked the end of the gimme part of the Huskies' non-conference schedule, with Mike Hopkins' squad (9-3 overall, 1-1 Pac-12) taking care of every lightweight opponent put before it on the docket except for one — Cal Baptist. 

Oh, well.

The Bengals (3-9), coached by former Seattle Pacific University leader Ryan Looney, never really had a chance against a bigger and better team. They made it a game for only the first 10 minutes of action at Alaska Airlines Arena.

Leading 19-11, the Huskies used their superior height to put some distance between them and the other guys and put this one away. 

They outscored the visitors 22-11 the rest of the way to intermission and did it in the least complicated manner possible — by lobbing the ball inside to their accommodating big guy.

Four times UW players lofted feeds to 7-foot-1 Fresno State transfer Braxton Meah, who effortlessly dunked the ball through, with his team pulling away a little more each time he threw it down and Idaho State looking a little more demoralized.

Meah caught one of these opportunities while in a long, loping stride on a fast break, hauling in a pinpoint Keyon Menifield delivery and slamming it in all in one motion.

He was good for 12 points, all coming on dunks on 6-foot-9 shooting, and he chipped in 6 rebounds.

Menfield, the Huskies' 6-foot-1 freshman, led the team in both scoring 13 points and 7 assists. 

Another UW freshman guard, Koren Johnson supplied 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting and 4 assists.

Senior Cole Bajema added 11 points and Kentucky transfer Keion Brooks had an 8-point, 10-rebound,6-assist stat line.

For the night, the Huskies logged a dozen dunks, again half of them going to Meah. Reserve 6-foot-9 forward Langston Wilson also got into the act with three rim-rattlers. The 6-foot-10 sophomore Jackson Grant powered one through. Even Menifield went up and tossed one through and sat down for the night. 

With 10 minutes remaining and Hopkins' crew up by 30, the coach began substituting in a liberal fashion. Players such as Tyler Linhardt and Kyle Luttinen, both forwards, scored the first points of their UW career, dropping in 6 a piece.

It's only gets tougher now for the Huskies as the schedule over the next three weeks looks like an NCAA tournament bracket.

On Wednesday, he UW hosts 19th-ranked Auburn (9-1), followed by a pair of home games against USC (8-3) and No. 16 (8-2) UCLA following Christmas, and then a road trip to face ninth-ranked Arizona (8-1) and Arizona State (10-1) in the desert in early January.

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