Hannes Steinbach had a double-double with 13 points and 16 rebounds to lead Washington to an 84-70 win over Denver on Thursday in Spokane, Wash.
It was a balanced scoring effort for Washington as seven players scored in double figures.
Wesley Yates III tallied 13 points, Zoom Diallo added 12 points and Lathan Sommerville, Quimari Peterson, JJ Mandaquit and Bryson Tucker all added 11 points for the Huskies (2-0)
Logan Kinsey scored a game-high 23 points, Jeremiah Burke added 15 points and Julius Rollins chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds for the Pioneers (0-2).
Washington was able to shake a determined Denver squad in the second half. Tucker got the hot hand and drilled threes on three consecutive possessions as the 39-29 Huskies’ advantage swelled to 48-31 with 17:15 to play.
While the Huskies found separation in shots from beyond the arc, they also held a commanding 48-28 edge on points scored in the paint. Sommerville’s tip-in extended the Huskies lead to 52-39 with 14:22 to play. The Huskies rang up a 34-5 advantage in bench points.
In a 9-2 Denver scoring rally, Carson Johnson scored every point for the Pioneers to cut the Washington lead to 70-63 with 5:56 to play. Peterson hit a three on the fast break as Washington responded and extended its advantage to 80-63 with 3:32 left in the game.
A 3-pointer from Kinsey gave the Pioneers an 8-6 lead in the early going. After the first media timeout, Washington went on a 9-0 run and took a 15-8 lead. But the Pioneers used an 8-0 spurt that spanned just 52 seconds, highlighted by a pair of Kinsey 3-pointers to take a 16-15 lead.
The Huskies were able to extend their lead by forcing 13 Denver turnovers, which led to a 22-11 Washington edge in points off turnovers. The Huskies had 11 steals while the Pioneers only had two.
It was a back-and-forth first half until Peterson nailed the first Washington three for a 35-23 lead. Denver clawed back to a single-digit deficit with a Julius Rollins layup and trailed 37-29 at halftime.
