The Huskies had several opportunities to tie or win in the final half minute. First, they set up 3-point specialist Scott Suggs in his favorite spot in the corner, but his trey glanced off the rim. Luckily for UW, senior Justin Holiday grabbed the rebound and was fouled, setting up two foul shots to tie. But following a timeout, Holiday missed the first of two.
Holiday intentionally missed the second, and while Stanford freshman forward Dwight Powell grabbed the rebound, he traveled in the process. Possession back to the Huskies, a third crack at it with 1.1 seconds on the clock.
Isaiah Thomas, the leading assist man in the Pacific-10, lobbed the inbounds pass to Holiday, who got a good look but came up short, sealing the Huskies (12-4, 4-1 Pac 10) first loss in conference this season.
Holiday was the perfect person to take the final shot. After a scoreless first half in which he went 0-5 from the field, the likeable senior came out on fire after intermission and finished with a game-high 15 points. Thomas added 14 for the Huskies.
Stanford (10-5, 3-1 Pac-10) was led by 14 from Owens, 12 from junior guard Jeremy Green and 11 from Powell.
Washington overcame a listless first half – where they trailed at intermission for the first time all season, 29-28, and shot just 36 percent from the field – with a new sense of urgency and passion in the second half. Sparked by three 3-pointers by Holiday and a new-found confidence, UW started to show the swagger it didn’t before halftime and raced out to a 49-38 lead midway through the second half.
That’s where the good fortunes started to unravel for the visitors from Seattle. Careless turnovers, missed free throws and squandered opportunities by the Huskies helped Stanford chip away at the lead until a 3-pointer from Green put the Cardinal ahead, 53-51, with 3:59 to go.
UW tied the lead twice the rest of the way, but their inability to put the Cardinal away came back to bite them. Incredibly, the Huskies scored just seven points in the final 10:37.
It was the lowest point total of the season for the Huskies – their previous low was 62, which came at Texas A&M – and snapped the team’s 6-game winning streak. UW entered the game as the second-highest scoring team in the nation.
GAME STATS:
Points: Holiday 15, Thomas 14, Bryan-Amaning 8, Suggs 6, N’Diaye 4, Ross 3, Gant 2, Wilcox 2, Overton 2
Rebounds: N’Diaye 11, Bryan-Amaning 7, Ross 4, Holiday 3, Overton 3, Thomas 3, Suggs 1, Gant 1
Assists: Thomas 7, Holiday 1, Overton 1, Suggs 1, Ross 1
Steals: Overton 2, Holiday 1, Thomas 1
Blocks: N’Diaye 1