Koren Johnson fuels Washington past Stanford

Jan 20, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; Washington Huskies head coach Mike Hopkins reacts during the game against the Stanford Cardinal during the second half at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports

Credit: Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports

Koren Johnson came off the bench to score a career-high 30 points, making six 3-pointers, to lead Washington to an 85-65 victory against Stanford in a Pacific-12 Conference game Thursday night in Seattle.

Keion Brooks Jr., the conference’s leading scorer, had 20 points and Sahvir Wheeler added 14 points and eight assists for the Huskies (14-11 overall, 6-8 Pac-12), who won their second in a row.

Maxime Raynaud and Brandon Angel each scored 19 to lead Stanford (12-12, 7-7), which lost for the third time in four games. Raynaud grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds.

The Cardinal, who set a program record with 19 3-pointers in a 99-58 rout of visiting USC last Saturday, made just 8 of 27 beyond the arc against the Huskies.

Brooks scored eight points as the UW opened the second half with a 12-0 run to take a 52-38 lead. The streak was capped by two thunderous dunks by Brooks after Stanford turnovers, the first after Brooks stole a pass and the latter eight seconds later after Paul Mulcahy made a steal in the backcourt and sent an alley-oop pass to Brooks.

The Huskies led 40-38 after the first half. Johnson scored 17 points in 10 minutes of playing time, including an off-balance 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Trailing 8-6, Angel made a 3-pointer and Raynaud scored seven consecutive points to cap a 10-0 run.

The Huskies regained the lead at 24-22 on what was essentially a six-point possession. Johnson made a driving layup while Stanford’s Spencer Jones was called for a technical foul on the play for pushing UW center Braxton Meah to the floor. Brooks made both technical free throws, then scored on a lob from Mulcahy on the ensuing inbounds pass from under the basket.

Raynaud (15) and Angel (14) combined for 29 of Stanford’s first-half points.

Stanford’s Spencer Jones, who scored a career-high 30 points and tied a school record with eight 3-pointers in a 90-80 victory over visiting Washington on Jan. 20, was limited to two points Thursday.

–Field Level Media

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