Washington will look to ride the momentum of a buzzer-beating victory when it visits Stanford in Pac-12 play on Saturday night.
Moses Wood missed eight of his first nine shots on Thursday but No. 10 was a 3-pointer from the left corner that went in as time expired to give the Huskies a dramatic 77-75 victory over host Cal.
“At the end of the shot clock and the end of the game, the ball has to go up,” Wood said afterward. “You just let it fly and live with whatever happens.”
The decisive shot gave Washington (11-7, 3-4 Pac-12) its third victory in four games entering the matchup with Stanford (9-8, 4-3).
The Huskies let an 11-point second-half lead get away against the Golden Bears but finished the game with a 10-2 run. And Wood’s 40th 3-pointer of the season — which leads the squad — prevented Washington from dealing with a bitter defeat.
“His teammates believe in him,” Huskies coach Mike Hopkins said. “He works really hard. For him to have that moment is really special for him.”
Keion Brooks Jr. recorded 21 points and seven rebounds to pace Washington. Brooks leads the Huskies with a 20.2 scoring average.
Meanwhile, the Cardinal lost 89-75 to visiting Washington State on Thursday night despite a fabulous effort from Kanaan Carlyle.
Carlyle poured in 31 points to surpass the program’s freshman scoring record of 30 points shared by Todd Lichti (vs. Seton Hall on Dec. 22, 1985) and Chasson Randle (vs. Arizona State on March 7, 2012).
“It was just me being in attack mode,” Carlyle said. “I feel like my coaches have been on me about being in attack mode, getting downhill and being able to make plays whether it’s for myself or for my teammates.”
Carlyle scored 20 points in the second half. Overall, he made 10 of 18 shots — 3 of 5 from 3-point range — and 8 of 9 from the free-throw line.
“It’s an impressive record to say the least,” Stanford coach Jerod Haase said. “It’s something he can and should be proud of, but I think he feels the same way I do — that the individual accolades are great, but at the end of the day, we’re chasing victories.
“The individual stuff tends to be a little bit hollow until you get the team victory.”
Maxime Raynaud added 22 points and 10 rebounds for his third straight double-double. He is second on the team in scoring (14.4) behind Carlyle (15.7) and is the Cardinal’s leading rebounder (9.8).
Stanford has won six of the past eight meetings.
–Field Level Media