Game recap: Cardinal 76, Huskies 69

Washington missed two point-blank shots, tossed up a 3-point airball, gave up an uncontested dunk in the final two minutes and fell to the Stanford Cardinal 76-69 Saturday night at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto, CA. Lorenzo Romar’s Huskies fell to 8-9 overall and 1-4 in Pac-12 play.

Despite freshman Markelle Fultz’s 34 points (he entered averaging 21.5), seven rebounds and three assists, Washington has been swept in the Bay Area for the third consecutive season.

With Fultz recording his 12th 20-point game and third with 30-plus points, the Huskies erased a 19-point halftime deficit (after falling behind by 21), but rallied to tie 63-63 on a Crisp 3-pointer late in the second half. But the Huskies went silent. Michael Humphrey scored eight of his 18 points in the final 3:36. The Cardinal tallied 11 consecutive points down the stretch and finished on a 13-6 run.

“The unfortunate thing was getting down by 21 in the first half,” said Romar. “We had been playing with a lot of energy, but we came out flat in the first half. Then we kind of rushed things down the stretch and didn’t get stops. So we’re 1-4.

“We gave them too many opportunities to get to the rim in the first half. We weren’t guarding like we should have guarded. That was the issue. But Markelle really had focus, and that was good to see.”

The Huskies’ 24 first-half points were their second fewest in a half this season.

“They (Stanford) were the more aggressive team in the first half, but we were the more aggressive team in the second half,” Romar said. “But we weren’t 21 points more aggressive. Still, I was proud of our guys. The frustration was the first half when we came out flat. This is still a work in progress for us.”

Crisp, who had that 3-point airball inside the final two minutes, was the other Washington player in double figures with 10 points. Noah Dickerson finished with seven rebounds.

Washington shot 38.8 percent from 2-point range and 26.9 percent from beyond the arc.

Humphrey led Stanford with 18 points while Marcus Allen had 15. Dorian Pickens and Robert Cartwright both had 13 for the Cardinal, which hit 46.3 percent from 2-point range.

The loss snapped Washington’s two-game winning streak against Stanford, which leads the all-time series 75-71.

The Huskies return to Alaska Airlines Arena at 8 p.m. Wednesday (ESPNU) to face the Colorado Buffaloes.  Washington hosts Utah at 5 p.m. Saturday.