Huskies Show Off New Players In Exhibition Romp Over St. Martin's

The UW plays aggressive in last exercise before opening the season against Bellarmine.

The Washington basketball team offered a glimpse on Sunday of what it's capable of doing this coming season, leading St. Martin's by 30 points at halftime before easing to a 103-58 exhibition victory at Alaska Airlines Arena.

The Huskies, emptying their bench with just under 10 minutes remaining, were led by senior forward Keion Brooks Jr.'s 22 points on 10-for-12 shooting from the floor, with most of his production coming in the opening 20 minutes. 

Senior center Braxton Meah sat out because of an ankle injury and Frank Kepnang is still easing into shape after having knee surgery last season, which meant that 6-foot-10 junior Wilhelm Breidenbach drew the start as the Husky big man.

The junior transfer from Nebraska showed a mix of versatility and toughness the Huskies will need entering coach Mike Hopkins' seventh season in charge.

"He's a dirt worker," Hopkins said, drawing comparisons to the Breidenbach and former Los Angeles Lakers rough-style forward Kurt Rambis. 

Breidenbach showed some ranged and knocked down a 3-pointer in the first half and he finished with 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting in 23 minutes. 

"He does all the dirty work," Hopkins added. "He's all about winning and team. That is contagious. I think we've got a lot of guys like that."

Kepnang made his first game appearance since he got hurt on Dec. 1 against Oregon State, pulling eight minutes of action, split equally between both halves. 

It didn't take long for Kepnang to switch gears and go full-out, chasing after loose balls and physically imposing his will on Saint Martin's bigs. 

"He knows one way," Hopkins said. "My goal was to play him 10, 15 minutes tonight and he played nine. ... To have him out there was pretty cool."

Kepnang played eight games last before suffering a season-ending knee injury, creating a significant void in the paint for Hopkins. The former Oregon big man scored 4 points and grabbed 3 rebounds in Sunday's exhibition game. 

As a team, UW outrebounded Saint Martin's 58-45, in part because Hopkins has switched away from his traditional zone defense this season. 

Sophomore guard Koren Johnson scored 21 points in 22 minutes off the bench, hitting 5 of 6 from behind the 3-point line. Johnson and fellow sophomore guard Nate Calmese combined for 35 of the Huskies' 50 points among non-starters. 

"Our depth is pretty long," Hopkins said, noting the importance of having a rotation that could go potentially nine or 10 deep. 

Freshman guard Wesley Yates III joined Meah as the only players who didn't take the floor against the Saints. The former four-star recruit out of Beaumont, Texas, is sidelined with injury suffered during the summer. 

Yates is practicing, according to Hopkins, but there is no determination whether he can play when the season begins against Bellarmine on Nov. 6, but Meah should be available, according to Hopkins.  

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