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Ted S. Warren / AP

Ted S. Warren / AP

Caught last night’s game from the stands with Gant’s Moustache.

I’ve been lucky enough to sit in the press box and attend post-game press conferences this year, but I’m glad I got to experience one game this year as a fan.

Getting to scream your head off and act like a maniac is one of the best things about the game experience, and, even if just for a night, I’m glad I got to do it. And, I’m glad I got to go with GM, my favorite dude to watch a Husky game with.

Here’s some thoughts on the squeaker:

What’s up with Isaiah? This wasn’t just an off night. Something’s up, and I hope it’s just the residual effects of the flu. Tonight, he was nothing like the sparkplug we’ve come to expect and looked downright slow out there.

This is me not taking Quincy Pondexter’s awesomeness for granted. This is me not taking Quincy Pondexter’s awesomeness for granted. This is me not taking Quincy Pondexter’s awesomeness for granted. . .

And speaking of guys we need to remember not to take for granted: Justin Holiday (five points, four rebounds, four assists, two blocks) has been the catalyst for everything good that’s happened to the Huskies during the Pac-10 portion of their schedule. If the Dawgs go on to salvage this season and make the Tournament, we’ll all look back to the decision to start Holiday as the turning point.

Looks like the coaches have given Scott Suggs the green light and it’s paying off. He had 13 points, and looks more confident every day. He also forced the turnover that led to Quincy’s big breakaway dunk — a key turning point as the Huskies were grabbing control of the game.

Gant’s Moustache is a proponent of the Dawgs sometimes going with a lineup that includes I.T. at the point, with one of the shooters (Suggs or Turner), Holiday, Quincy and one of the bigs. I used to call him crazy, but when Venoy goes to the bench, I’m starting to come around to the idea that it shouldn’t automatically mean Romar goes back to Abdul Gaddy.

Easily the best interior defensive effort of the season — dare I say that the Huskies looked semi-intimidating down low last night? Fantastic effort Thursday, given that Arizona has some tough competitors, including Ivan Drago, on its front line.

More on the Huskies interior D: their nine blocks are the most for them in a Pac-10 game this year.

Again, MBA + Tyreese = a decent performance from a post player (12 points, nine rebounds, six blocks, eight fouls, in 29 minutes).

Nic Wise isn’t half the player Quincy Pondexter is.

Call me crazy, but I was a lot more worried about this game than I am for Saturday against ASU. I feel like we can own the Sun Devils a second time around, and predict a slow grind of a game, but feel ultra confident the Dawgs will come out on top . What do you think?

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Ted S. Warren / AP

Ted S. Warren / AP

The Washington Huskies (5-5, 15-7 overall) defeated the Arizona Wildcats (6-4, 12-10 overall), 81-75, on Thursday night at Hec Ed.

The least you should know:

The Huskies didn’t put this one away until the final minute, shooting 10-10 from the free throw line in the final 50 seconds to overcome the plucky Wildcats.

As he’s done so often, Quincy Pondexter carried the team for long stretches tonight, finishing with 30 points and 12 rebounds.

The Huskies forced the Wildcats into 20 turnovers, and contained leading scorers Nic Wise (12 points on 4-17 shooting) and Derrick Williams (3 points in eight minutes, five fouls).

The narrative:

The Huskies had been so dominant on their home floor of prior to Thursday night, going 14-1 this season, and winning the last four home games by an average of 30 points, that Venoy Overton found himself thankful for a close game.

“We needed a game like this,” said Overton after the Huskies’ hard-fought 81-75 victory over the Arizona Wildcats on Thursday evening.

For the second straight game, the Huskies fell behind in the first half, going into the locker room down, 37-31. The Huskies shot 29% in the first 20 minutes, missed nine of 17 free throws, and had only two assists.

Quincy Pondexter’s 15 points at the break were responsible for nearly half of the Huskies’ scoring.

With 17:38 remaining in the game, the Huskies regained the lead, 40-39, on a layup by Tyreese Breshers and never fell behind again. The Huskies held their largest lead, 68-58, with 6:45 remaining.

In the final 1:20 of the game, Arizona managed to pull within two points three separate times, only to see the Huskies put the game away at the free throw line, hitting on their last ten free throws.

Overton, who connected on six free throws in the final minute and scored 12 in the game, started the second half in place of Isaiah Thomas, who struggled early on and finished with only seven points.

Thoughts and Observations:

Isaiah Thomas looked like he was going half speed tonight. For the first time in two seasons, I didn’t get the sense he was playing very hard. Still feeling the effects of the flu?

Great games tonight by Tyreese Breshers (nine points, six rebounds, two blocks in 12 minutes) and Scott Suggs (13 points).

The game was won for the Huskies at the free throw line. They hit their last 10, and shot 21-25 in the second half, to preserve a close win.

However, the game was nearly lost at the line too. The Huskies looked to me like they outplayed the Wildcats for much of the first half, but shot 8-17 from the line, 29% from the field, and went to locker room down six.

Big break for the Huskies that Derrick Williams got into foul trouble so early and never really got going in the game.

Nice job overall by the Husky bigs tonight, who finished with a combined six blocks (four for Matthew Bryan-Amaning, two for Breshers).

Next up: Arizona State, which destroyed the Huskies in Tempe, 68-51, in January. The Huskies have beaten many teams with more talent than the Sun Devils, but looked clueless against the Sun Devils gimmicky zone defense last time out.

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