Field Level Media
Jan 14, 2023
Koren Johnson hit a key 3-pointer, Keion Brooks Jr. saved six of his game-high 26 points for overtime and Washington outlasted visiting California 81-78 in a Pac-12 Conference game Saturday afternoon in Seattle.
The win allowed the Huskies (11-8, 3-5 Pac-12) to complete a two-game sweep of the San Francisco Bay Area's Pac-12 schools after handling Stanford 86-69 on Thursday.
The Golden Bears (3-15, 2-5) dropped their second game in four days, having tipped off a Northwest swing with a 66-51 loss at Washington State on Wednesday.
Washington never trailed in the overtime, opening a four-point advantage at 71-67 on Johnson's 3-pointer with 1:49 to go.
The Huskies held on from there thanks to layups by Brooks and Noah Williams, and a total of six free throws, including three by Johnson and two by Brooks. The latter's created the final margin with four seconds left.
Johnson then blocked Sam Alajiki's potential game-tying 3-pointer at the final horn.
Down 11 with under 10 minutes to play in regulation, the Huskies chipped away, eventually drawing even on a Brooks layup with 12 seconds left.
Cal, which hadn't scored since an Alajiki 3-pointer had given the visitors a 63-57 lead with 2:35 to go, had a shot at a regulation win, but Kuany Kuany was off the mark on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
Seeking its first true road win of the season, Cal took a 10-9 lead on a Kuany layup in the game's sixth minute and never trailed again until Williams' jumper 15 seconds into overtime.
The Golden Bears led 33-26 at halftime and then 54-43 after a Grant Newell layup just before the midpoint of the second period before Washington rallied.
Brooks found time for 10 rebounds to complete a double-double for the Huskies, who had lost five in a row before the Stanford/Cal sweep.
Williams backed Brooks with 22 points and Johnson added 15 points off the bench, while Braxton Meah snatched a game-high 11 rebounds to go with three blocks and six points.
Newell compiled a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double for Cal, which had packed a two-game winning streak for its trip north. Lars Thiemann chipped in with 13 points and seven rebounds, Joel Brown 12 points, five assists and two steals, and DeJuan Clayton 11 points.
--Field Level Media