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Instant Reaction: Huskies Howl Early, Fall Late in Salt Lake City

The roller coaster ride of Pac-12 Conference play for the Washington Huskies continued Thursday night in Salt Lake City.  And once again the UW snatched defeat from the jaws of victory as it fell to the Utah Utes 67-66.
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Instant Reaction

The beat continues for the Washington Huskies.  They were, once again, unable to hold a double-digit lead late as they drop another game in gut-wrenching fashion.  This was inexcusable fashion as Jaden McDaniels picked up a technical foul late in the game that opened the door for the Huskies to fall apart.  

This time it was a late collapse  on the road in Salt Lake City. This time it was a 12-point lead with 8:14 remaining in game. And this time the Huskies did everything seemingly right for the next 7 minutes but the Utes' Rylan Jones hit two free-throws with 14 seconds remaining.

The Huskies weren't able to get the ball to the basket as Jamal Bey turned the ball over on an offensive foul to end the game.

Isaiah Stewart was relatively quiet in the second half going 3-for-3 from the field but McDaniels countered with 10 points in 13 minutes.  Washington was seemingly rolling as it pushed the lead to 49-38 on a McDaniels 3.  A short time later the Huskies extended the lead to 12 on another McDaniels trey.  

This undoing of the Dawgs was eerily similar to the loss to Oregon last Saturday night.  This was not a complete collapse with everything going wrong, but more freshmen doing freshmen things and sophomores doing sophomoric things. 

What We Saw

The Huskies shot over 50 percent from the field, including 45 percent from beyond the arc and nearly 80 percent from the free-throw line...and still lost.

UW seemed to miss Quade Green's ballhandling late in the game against Oregon and again late against Utah.  Against the Utes, the Washington guards couldn't get the ball out of their own backcourt trailing by 1 and in the double bonus.

Washington had the lead for nearly 30 minutes of the game.  The Huskies took a four-point lead, at 28-24, into the locker room at the half. Utah tied it at 30 before Hameir Wright gave the Huskies the lead 33-30 with just over 15 minutes remaining in the contest. 

They seem to have solved some of the missing offensive production from Green with four starters finishing in double figures, including a career night for Hameir Wright, who dropped 4 of 6 from deep.  Wright finished one rebound shy of a double-double.

Key Stats

Utah hit just 1 of 11 three-point attempts in the second half.  On the other hand, the Utes were 18-for-22 from the line in that same time frame, including the final six points of the game from the charity stripe.

The Utes took 18 more free-throw attempts than the Huskies.  The UW as 8-for-9 from the line in the second half.  

The Huskies shot 55 percent from behind the arc in the second half, hitting on 6 of 11 attempts. 

Washington had 7 of its 17 turnovers in the second half.  However, Bey committed two turnovers in the final minute, including one in the final seconds.

Utah had a rare six-point possession on McDaniels' technical foul: two foul shots for the foul, two foul shots for the technical foul, and the Utes retained the possession and converted.  

Where Do They Go From Here?

The Huskies head to Boulder, Colorado, to take on the 23rd-ranked Buffaloes.  Colorado is coming off of a 78-56 victory over the Washington State Cougars and has won eight of its last 10 games.

The video above holds Kaila Olin's Keys to the Game.  How did she do?