Huskies Lose Double Heartbreaker to Texas Tech 99-92 in OT

The Huskies failed their first test on the road losing to a feisty Texas Tech Red Raider team in overtime 99-92. Quincy Pondexter set a career high, scoring 31 points in the losing effort. Both teams came out the gates playing as if it were March already. The first half of the game was like the first half of a boxing match, both teams feeling out their opponent to see what their weakness is.

The Dawgs and Raiders played scrappy defense forcing turnovers the whole game. Both teams committed 19 turnovers. At halftime the score was 50-41. The Red Raiders went on a 9-0 run at one point in the first half. Pondexter and Elston Turner shined for the Dawgs in the first half; Turner hitting 3’s at NBA range and showing signs of taking his defender off the dribble while Pondexter did his all to keep the Dawgs in the game.

Pondexter, who is really establishing himself as the mature leader of the Husky team, seemed to take a positive spin from the game.

“We never gave up. In earlier years, this could have been a blowout. We got down early in the first half and we could have let it go in the complete opposite way and let them balloon the score. But we said at halftime we had a great opportunity to come back. And we did. This early in the year, we’ve still got a lot of learning to do. We’ve got to get back into the lab and get to work”.

Red Raider Brad Reese had a career high coming off the bench scoring 17, going 3-5 from the three point line. Michael Singletary was slashing to the basket and grabbing rebounds at will, showing off his future NBA potential. Singletary finished with 16 points and led all rebounders with 12. John Roberson led Texas Tech in scoring with 25 points.

Lorenzo Romar recognized Roberson’s importance to the outcome.

“He really ran his team and took his opportunities when they were there. He was an outstanding lead guard out there tonight and was probably the difference in the ball game.”

Abdul Gaddy had 3 fouls in the first half struggling to keep up with Red Raider John Roberson. Gaddy ended up with 4 fouls and 0 points with 0 rebounds and 0 assists. This was by far the worse game Gaddy has played in his early career with the Dawgs and proves that he still needs to get used to the pace and style of college basketball.

Sophomore guard Isaiah Thomas also had an off game going 4-15 from the field and shooting 9-14 from the free throw line. Thomas got to the rim with ease, but was missing shots due to a man being down in the block to distract Thomas’s shot. Isaiah finished with 18 points, but based on attempts and anemic production at the free throw line that not good production and a key in the loss.

In the second half it was the Pondexter show, doing everything he could to will his team to a comeback and a victory. The Red Raiders had a balanced offense, spreading the floor and finished with 5 players in double digits, while John Roberson led the way.

The Huskies came back to take a 54-50 lead but that lead didn’t last long as the Raiders were fighting with all their heart. Michael Singletary had some key baskets along with Roberson. The Huskies missed 3 of 5 free throws down the stretch that could’ve sealed the game.

Thomas got fouled at one point from the three point lined and missed 2 free throws knotting up the game 60-60. Both teams were going back and forth, even drawing double technical fouls from Thomas and D’Walyn Roberts.

It was 80-80 with 4.8 seconds left when Elston Turner got fouled and sent to the line. Turner missed both free throws to keep the game tied and could have over thought the situation.

“I was thinking, ‘If I make these, we win. We win and we just beat a very good team.’ But that didn’t happen.”

Michel Singletary then traversed the court and heaved a 3-point shot from the top corner of the arc and it went in. The refs looked at the replay and declared the shot no good due to the clock expiring at the end of regulation.

Overtime came and it was all Red Raiders. The Huskies went scoreless in 3 minutes while the Raiders did their damage and finished the game strong. At one point in overtime the game was tied but junior forward Matthew Bryan-Amaning turned the ball over throwing an inbound play away at midcourt that led to transition bucket to seal the deal for the Red Raiders. Both teams showed heart and resilience throughout the whole game but it really seemed like the team who wanted it more won.

The Huskies will go back to the drawing board and face Cal State Northridge Sunday at the Bank of America Arena in Seattle at 7PM (PST).

Key Observations

Huskies played hard but free throws plagued them.

Abdul Gaddy played a poor game and still is showing shakiness in his game. Gaddy is shooting 27% for the season.

Elston Turner had his best game of the season. Show quickness and being able to handle the basketball.

Quincy Pondexter had a great game and has shown he has worked on his ability to handle the basketball.

Isaiah Thomas struggled but still had 18 points by getting to the basket. Thomas shot 9-14 from the free throw line but missed 2 of 3 crucial free throws getting fouled at the three point line.

The big men are still a question for the Huskies and they need to figure it out soon. Pondexter rebounded the best out of all of them, though Darnell Gant led the Dawgs with 9 boards.

The Red Raiders won the battle of the boards 38-33, uncharacteristic of this UW program of the last few years, but it was Texas Tech’s 18 assists to the Dawgs 9 that was probably the key statistic in the game.

I couldn’t help but wonder that if Thomas were able to dish his way out of some of those circus shots and find open team mates that the assist deficit could have been much smaller.

Here’s the recap, including box score from ESPN, who showed the game nationally on ESPN2.