Takeaway
Dejounte Murray (22 points), Andrew Andrews (16) and Marquese Chriss (15) led five Huskies in double figures as Washington overwhelmed Penn of the Ivy League 104-67 Saturday afternoon at Alaska Airlines Arena (box). In reaching 3-0, Lorenzo Romar’s Huskies topped the 100-point mark for the second consecutive game, the first back-to-back efforts since 2010. Now comes the hard part: Gonzaga.
Essential moment
Washington went on a 16-0 run in the first four minutes as Murray (seven) and Andrews (seven) combined for 14 points. The game could have been stopped right there as Penn never got back in it. The only question was whether the Huskies would top the 100-point mark, which they did with 3:01 to play.
Offense/Defense
Penn missed its first seven shots. The Huskies increased the lead to 52-27 by halftime largely by dominating the paint. UW had four blocks and a 29-17 rebound margin in the first 20 minutes and finished with 50, the first time in the Romar era that Washington has snatched 50 or more rebounds in three consecutive games.
Murray, a 6-foot-4 freshman and Parade All-America from Rainier Beach, made 9 of 16 shots, dropped in a trio of three pointers, and finished with five rebounds and four assists. Andrews had a pair of 3-pointers in the first half en route to 16 points and five assists. Chriss, coming off a 29-point effort against Mount St. Mary’s, had 15 and six rebounds, including a windmill jam that brought the crowd to its feet in the second half.
Washington, which shot 51.3 percent, made 8 of 20 threes, and swatted away eight shots, also got 14 points off the bench from David Crisp, who knocked down two 3-balls en route to 14 points. In all, 10 of the 14 Huskies who played scored, including Mountlake Terrace walk-on Greg Bowman, who tallied eight points, drawing standing ovations from his teammates on the bench.
The Huskies held Penn to 32.8 percent shooting and 6 of 28 3-pointers. Darien Nelson-Henry, a senior from Kirkland (Lake Washington High), led the Quakers with 13 points.
Washington played the second half with leads ranging from 30 to 40 points. Penn was unable to make a dent even after Romar emptied his bench.
Noteworthy
Washington scored 100 or more points in consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 30-Dec. 4, 2010, when the Huskies defeated Long Beach State 102-75 and Texas Tech 108-79 . . . Before Saturday, the Huskies had not contested Penn since Dec. 28, 1993. UW is 1-2 all-time, which fell to 3-1 this season . . . UW scored 54 points in the first half, the first 50-point+ first half since Feb. 2, 2013 vs. Arizona . . . Noah Dickerson had a career-high three blocks . . . The Huskies entered the game with a +21.0 rebounding margin over their opponents and were+11 Saturday . . . The Huskies average 95.6 points per game.
Next
The Huskies renew their rivalry with Gonzaga University Wednesday at 9 a.m. in the Battle 4 Atlantis at Nassau, Bahamas, then will play either Texas or Texas A&M Thursday in the same tournament at a time to be determined. Washington plays Gonzaga for the first time since Dec. 9, 2006.
