Inside The Huskies

Huskies Trounced by Trojans 80-67

Washington basketball falls at home as shots quit falling.

Roman Tomashoff

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One day after Washington football took home an Alamo Bowl victory against the Texas Longhorns, the Husky basketball team was hoping to keep the momentum on Montlake rolling against one of the best teams in the Pac-12. 

However, USC had different plans, riding Boogie Ellis' 27 points to an easy 80-67 win on Friday night at Alaska Airlines Arena.

One of the biggest takeaways from this game for Mike Hopkins and his coaching staff is that they have a star in freshman point guard Keyon Menifield. The Flint, Michigan, native finished this outing with 18 points, good for second on the team, while shooting 50 percent from the field.

Menifield drew the start instead of senior swingman Jamal Bey.

Washington was bitten by the injury bug early in the season, losing center Franck Kepnang for the rest of the year with a knee injury, but got a boost on Friday, with transfer swingman Noah Williams returning for the first time since the season opener. 

However, Williams definitely looked a little rusty, going just 1 for 8 from the field.

While a lot hasn't gone right for Hopkins over the past couple of seasons, one player whose development he should find encouraging is that of 7-foot-1 center Braxton Meah. 

The Fresno State transfer got into foul trouble and finished the game with 8 points before fouling out, but his impact on the defensive end was clear whenever he was on the floor.

Hopkins' offense shut down late in the game when the UW team made just two of its last 15 shots. Keion Brooks went 6 for 21 from the field, and, as a whole, Washington shot just 32 percent from the floor compared to USC's 47 percent. 

The Huskies (9-5 overall, 1-2 Pac-12) return to the floor next year, OK two days later, for a New Year's Day matchup against the 11th-ranked UCLA Bruins (11-2, 2-0).

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Roman Tomashoff
ROMAN TOMASHOFF

I've followed the Huskies for my entire life, and to be in a position where I get to cover them full-time is nothing short of an honor. After graduating from Lasell University in 2019, I moved to Seattle to pursue my dream of working in sports media. While writing for the Husky Haul, I also covered local sports for the Everett Daily Herald before the COVID-19 pandemic. After being hired by Realdawg.com in February of 2021, I also transitioned into doing a lot of entertainment writing, as I work on a variety of magazines as a contributing writer for Centennial Media, and have also contributed to Emmy Magazine, as well as Walt Disney Television Studios. 

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