Inside The Huskies

Huskies Go to Overtime to Claim Wooden Title

The UW grinds out a big win over previously unbeaten St. Mary's.

Dan Raley

In this story:

ANAHEIM, Calif.Β β€”Β The University of Washington basketball team tipped off the Wooden Legacy championship game against St. Mary's late on Thanksgiving night and tried to play until Christmas.

The Huskies settled for a hard-earned 68-64 overtime victory that brought them a second Wooden title with a pair of Braxton Meah free throws giving them the lead for good with 1:18 remaining in the extra session. They previously won this tourney in 2014.

This nationally televised ESPN game finally came to a grueling end at 11:45 p.m. PT, which, of course, was 2:45 up and down the East Coast.Β 

Kentucky transfer Keion Brooks led the Huskies (5-1) with 14 points and 11 rebounds, which included sinking a fadeaway jumper for a 65-62 advantage with just 15.3 left in the OT. Brooks was named tourney MVP.

Senior guard PJ Fuller chipped in 12 points to offset a sloppy 8 turnovers and tied the game at the end of regulation at 58; freshman playmaker Koren Johnson had his best game as a Husky with a career-high 11 points on 4-for-7 shooting, including 2-for-4 from 3-point range, with one of his treys coming in overtime; and reserve center Franck Kepnang provided 10 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks before fouling out in regulation play.

Everyone had a little something to do with pulling this one out.

After tipping off at 9:30 p.m. PT to satisfy the holiday TV time slot, coach Mike Hopkins' Huskies came out ready to battle with a West Coast Conference entry (6-1) comprised of its usual Australian contingent, a well-regarded freshman shooter and a veteran big man from Seattle.

The Gaels' Mitchell Saxon, a 6-foot-10, 242-pound junior center from the north-end's Ingraham High School, topped all scorers with 17 points and chipped in 8 rebounds.Β 

Freshman guard Koren Johnson lobs a shot over St. Mary's.
Freshman guard Koren Johnson had a productive outing against St. Mary's, scoring a career-best 11 points :: Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports

The Huskies led most of the opening half and by as many as eight before settling into a 28-22 lead at intermission. Their 2-3 zone really bothered St. Mary's, which hit just 6 of 29 3-point shots.Β 

The UW stayed comfortably out front into the next half until the Gaels finally made a run and tied the game at 43 with 8:45 left to play on a left-handed inside shot by Australian Kyle Bowen.

Then it was gut-check time. The Huskies lost Kepnang on fouls with 2:30 left. They dropped behind by as many as five at 58-53 inside the final two minutes of regulation play before Brooks hit a difficult fallaway jumper and Fuller drove to the basket, spun, scored and got fouled, and converted the three-point play with 52.7 seconds left to tie the game at 58.

St. Mary's had a chance to win at the end of regulation but a pair of 3-pointers weren't close.Β Β 

Keion Brooks looks for room to maneuver against St. Mary's in the Wooden Legacy title game.
Koren Brooks looks for a lane to the basket in the Wooden Legacy title game. He led the Huskies with 14 points and 11 rebounds :: Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports

The UW survived committing 23 turnovers, more than twice its average.Β 

Meah's go-ahead free throws in the extra session were pre-empted by his miss on the first attempt, only to have a Gaels player commit a lane violation and give him a second chance to convert a pair. The 7-foot-1 big man, who transferred in from Fresno State, took advantage of the careless error and didn't miss thereafter. He had his typical game of 4 points, 8 rebounds and a blocked shot.

In the aftermath of this gritty win, the Huskies gathered at midcourt, locked arms and did a funky Mariners-like dance celebration as midnight approached. No one seemed to care what time it was.

The Huskies next play at home on Monday night against Seattle University before opening Pac-12 play next Thursday at Oregon State.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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