Seattle, WA – The Washington Huskies behind a career night from 6-8 sophomore forward Noah Dickerson pulled away from the overmatched Seattle University Redhawks 94-72.
The 245-pound Dickerson cleaned up the glass all night, finishing with a career high 17 rebounds to pair with 21 points, two away from tying his career high in points. Armed with a soft touch in face up situations around the basket and respectable range, Dickerson was able to find holes in the Redhawks zone defense and capitalize either scoring or drawing fouls. He’s not a vertical or bouncy athlete, but his frame enables him to box out very effectively. He even hit his first career 3 on a trail play in transition, encapsulating just how much it was his night.
Both teams opened the game in 2-3 zones, with the Huskies trying to capitalize on the Redhawks’ lack of floor spacing and anemic season total of 31.8 percent from 3, while the Redhawks simply don’t have the athletes to defend the Huskies in space in man situations. 6-4 freshman phenom guard Markelle Fultz quickly picked up two fouls in the first two minutes, and Washington head coach Lorenzo Romar made the calculated decision to let him play through it. Romar was able to hide Fultz mostly in the zone, and started to employ man schemes when Fultz rested, while also utilizing offense/defense substitutions late in the half to preserve Fultz’s two fouls.
6-0 sophomore guard David Crisp carried the scoring load early, hitting three first half 3s off of both the catch spotting up and off the dribble. Crisp repeatedly broke the defense down on drive and kicks to shooters, also accruing four first half assists. Crisp is undersized with average athleticism, but he has an ultra-quick trigger that allows him to get a high volume of 3s off and he has a nice floater game attacking the basket with decent burst. He finished with a well-rounded 16-5-7 stat line going 5-for-8 from 3.
Largely playing apprehensive in the first half due to foul trouble, Fultz was heard from early in the second half, catching two straight lob passes from Crisp in transition in emphatic fashion. He had his standard smooth pull-up game on display, with a plethora of dribble moves including his ultra-quick spin. Most impressively, Fultz continued to display the ability to create impact events defensively, harassing the passing lanes with his length accruing two steals and registering two more chase down blocks.
The Huskies blew the game open early in the second half with pristine ball movement, and the Redhawks struggled to keep up. 6-5 senior guard Brenden Westendorf did his best to tread water for the Redhawks in the game all night. He started off by slashing to the hoop with tremendous body control and finishing above the rim in the first half, and knocking down three 3s in the second half to prevent a runaway. Westendorf has fantastic size for a point guard, and was the only player on Seattle University who looked like he belonged on the court with the Huskies from a physical and skill standpoint, amassing a team high 17 points and seven rebounds.
Redhawks coach Cameron Dollar tried to use his size advantage inside with 7-3, 295-pound sophomore center Aaron Menzies’ height, but Menzies doesn’t have the footwork or coordination to score consistently in the post. UW 6-10 forward Malik Dime, the best athlete in UW’s frontcourt, was able to block and alter Menzies’ interior shot attempts numerous times, and Menzies ended up sitting much of the second half due to foul trouble, rendering no one capable of helping Westendorf mount a comeback.
Overall, Romar’s decision to insert Dime back into the starting lineup with Dickerson paid off, benefiting UW’s interior defense with Dime over the immobile 6-11 freshman center Sam Timmins and keeping Dickerson’s scoring prowess on the court. The Huskies will try to build on their 3-game winning streak as they start conference play against their in-state rival Washington State Cougars on New Year’s Day.
This article was written by Cole Zwicker, a correspondent and scout for NetScouts Basketball. You can subscribe to our RSS feed from the upper right corner of our home page, follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.
Any international players interested in coming to the USA to play in college, prep school or high school can contact us here. We are looking for interns and sales associates. If you’re interested contact us and forward your resume.
