Huskies Make Sprinkle an Opening-Night Winner, But It Was a Struggle

The UW trailed by five late in the second half before pulling away.

UW power forward Great Osobor tries to get to the hoop in the opener against UC Davis. / UW Athletics

In a gym not even half full, Danny Sprinkle got things started with his University of Washington basketball team, winning his coaching debut over UC Davis 79-73 on Tuesday night at Alaska Airlines Arena.

While the new leader picked up that milestone first victory, his Huskies didn't receive any style points for what was best described as a grinder of a game. Maybe it was better more local fans didn't see this one. It was rugged.

UW football coach Jedd Fisch, offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll and quarterbacks coach Jimmie Dougherty sat courtside and watched for four minutes and either had to get back to work in preparation for Saturday night's game at Penn State or had seen enough.

"I'm glad that one's over," said Sprinkle, who got a game ball from athletic director Pat Chun and a postgame shower with players dumping water on him.

The Huskies even trailed much of the second half before exerting themselves and pulling away over the final six minutes. Reserve forward Tyler Harris broke a 58-all time with a driving lay-in down the middle, sending his team on a 21-15 run to close it.

Play was rough with the officiating crew permitting players to bump and get bumped back without any consequences. A lot of guys ended up on the floor, though no one appeared to suffer a serious injury.

The Huskies more often than not put the ball in the hands of the 6-foot-8, 250-pound power forward Great Osobor, whether it was feeding him low in a crowd or repeatedly letting him as this big body bring the ball up the floor and try to go one-on-one to the rim. Osobor finished with a team-best 15 points and game-high 17 rebounds. He took just 8 shots and committed 6 turnovers.

It wasn't the smoothest offensive approach and a situation that could prove problematic going forward. Shooters they're not, hitting just 2 of 14 from 3-point range and suffering through a 21-for-38 night at the foul line.

"That will be our worst shooting night," Osobor said.

The Huskies badly are in need of a point guard to take over, though freshman Zoom Diallo looks capable and opened the second half as a starter. In his college debut, he finished with 12 points and 4 assists.

While the UW struggled on the offensive end, UC Davis had a one-man scoring machine in 6-foot-3 senior guard Ty Johnson, who dropped in a game-high 35 points, most of them coming around the perimeter. A free-wheeling player and a returning All-Big West selection, he connected on 10 of 25 shots and 13 of 16 free throws.

"It was a game we needed," Osobor said. "It was good to get it out of the way."

Initially, the UW jumped off to a 12-2 lead with 6 points coming from 6-foot-11 center Franck Kepnang, one of the few familiar faces in a home uniform from the previous season. He scored on a dunk off a lob pass, a one-hander in close and a put-back to get things going.

The Huskies largely eschewed the 3-point shot. Rice transfer Mekhi Mason hit the first one the UW put up but that was it for the home team in 8 first-half attempts.

UC Davis, a 20-13 team last season, was a persistent opponent, chasing the Huskies throughout the opening half. The Aggies finally caught up to them at 33-33 on a pair of free throws by Johnson with 1:02 left before falling behind 37-33 at the break.

The visitors threw a zone and a full- and half-court press at their hosts, and it all seemed to keep Sprinkle's guys from getting comfortable.

Following the break, UC Davis continued to hang around and even went up by 3, when Johnson entered the key, got bumped threw up a flip shot that went in and converted the foul shot for a 46-43 lead with 15:50 left to play.

The Aggies' lead moved to 53-49 on a Johnson layin and even to 5 when forward Isaiah Chappell dropped in a corner 3-pointer for a 58-53 edge at the 7:10 mark. Then it was time for Sprinkle's team get serious and reward their coach with a determined finish, though they missed a lot of foul shots.

"They did what they had to do to win," the coach said. "I'm proud of these guys."

Next up for the Huskies is a road game at Nevada on Saturday night.

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