University of Washington
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UTEP (Championship)
Huskies Edge Out UTEP, 68-65, for Wooden Legacy Title
December 01, 2014 | Men's Basketball
Photo Courtesy of: Kohjiro Kinno/ESPN Images for DirecTV Wooden Legacy
ANAHEIM, CALIF.(AP) — Andrew Andrews scored 20 points and Washington sunk six free throws in the final 45 seconds for the deciding points to edge UTEP 68-65 in the championship game of the Wooden Legacy.
Nigel Williams-Goss had 16 points and six assists and Jernard Jareau added 10 points and eight rebounds for the Huskies (6-0).
Vince Hunter had 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Miners (4-1). Julian Washburn added 17 points and Cedrick Lang scored 14.
UTEP led 63-62 with 2:02 remaining, but couldn't hold on. Mike Anderson sunk the tying and go-ahead free throws for Washington with 48 seconds left and Andrews and Williams-Goss each sunk two for insurance.
Omega Harris' potential game-tying 3-pointer rimmed out at the buzzer. UTP made just 2 of 15 3-point attempts in the game, while Washington was 6 of 12.
Washington never trailed in the first half and went into halftime up 33-26, but UTEP slowly chipped away at the lead. The Miners opened the second half on a 10-4 run to make it a 1-point game and, after some back and forth, took their first lead on a vicious alley-oop dunk by Hunter to make it 43-41 UTEP with 13 minutes remaining.
The dunk, made possible by a steal and lob pass by Earvin Morris, brought the sizable Miners fan section to its feet and forced Washington coach Lorenzo Romar to call a timeout.
Williams-Goss tied it with a layup nine seconds after the dunk, Darin Johnson followed with an easy layup to give Washington the lead back, and Donaven Dorsey drained a 3-pointer in front of his own bench for an exclamation point to the Huskies surge.
But again the Miners fought back, staging a 10-0 run to take a 55-52 lead just inside the six minute mark.
More back-and-forth ensured until it was 63-62 UTEP, but Washington's success from the free throw line gave them the lead and the championship.
2014 DIRECTV Wooden Legacy All-Tournament Team
Most Outstanding Player – Nigel Williams-Goss, Washington
Andrew Andrews, Washington
Vince Hunter, UTEP
Mike Caffey, Long Beach State
Matt Stainbrook, Xavier
Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Lorenzo Romar, Washington
“I'm going to say that UTEP is very predictable. They are going to play hard and they are going to play some good basketball. We talked to our team about how scrappy they would be and they have a team full of junkyard dogs. In the second half I thought they kind of composed their will on us early, and they would come back and eventually get the lead because of how hard they were playing. I give our guys a lot of credit because we really competed today. Guys came up and made plays. Down the stretch our guards Nigel (Williams-Goss) and Andrew (Andrews) made big plays and managed the game really well. The way UTEP plays is they get you at a frenetic pace, and they make you hurry because they are so aggressive. I thought our guys did a good job maintaining their composure down the stretch and getting shots at the rim.”
On their free-throws near the end
“Mike Anderson, Andrew Andrews, and Nigel Williams-Goss are pretty good free-throw shooters. The right guys were at the line down the stretch. They shot the ball with a lot of confidence and knocked them down.”
On where they feel they stack up after six games
“I would have to agree with Nigel (Williams-Goss). A lot of people don't realize Robert Upshaw and Jernard Jarreau did not play last year. In Jernard's case, he did not even practice after November and didn't do anything for a long time. So those guys are going to get better. Donaven Dorsey and Quevyn Winters are new to our club and continue to get better and help our team as they learn what it takes to play at this level. We need to perfect our defensive principles a lot more than how things are now, and perfect what we are doing offensively. We feel like there is much room for growth for this team.”
On Andrew Andrews's contributions to the team
“Andrew is not bashful and plays with a lot of confidence. Credit Andrew at times when his shot wasn't falling, he continued to take good open three's and he has hit some big shots for already in this young season. That's how he plays right now. He's an upper-classmen and a co-captain and that is what you expect from your leaders. They not only take big shots but also make them.”
Nigel Williams-Goss, Sophomore Guard on how these three games will help their season
“It was huge for us. Our mindset was to come down here and get three wins. We had played pretty well at home and were 3-0 coming into the tournament. We felt this was going to be our first true test and see how well we stacked up against some of the top teams around the country. We obviously feel good leaving here 6-0 and it feels good to be 6-0 heading into our game against San Diego State at home.”
On where they feel they stack up after six games
"I feel like we can play with anyone in the country. Right now we still have some work together. We have to get better, we're giving up too many offensive rebounds, we still have to find our offensive rhythm, but we have the confidence we can play with anyone in the country. We feel that we are only going to keep getting better.”
On shooting adjustments throughout the game
“No not really, I think only took three shots in the first half. I was trying to let the game come to me, I was trying to pick my spots. I knew in the second half I had to be a little bit more aggressive and try to set myself a little bit more. My teammates did a really great job getting me open and having lots of confidence in me. Other guys made big plays down the stretch as well. Andrew Andrews hit a big three down the stretch, Jernard Jarreau had a big offensive rebound, Robert U.pshaw had a dunk. We all just knew that we had all those options in the second half.”
