No. 16 Washington routs Grambling State 86-38
SEATTLE (AP) — In previous seasons when Washington was playing lesser competition and was clearly the more dominant side, coach Lorenzo Romar would invariably burn a timeout at some point to remind and refocus his team.
Romar never needed to call that timeout or give his players that reminder on Wednesday night as the 16th-ranked Huskies raced past Grambling State 86-38.
"I just know over the years coming into games like this at some point we have to call a timeout because we're going through the motions, or we're up 18 and we feel like we're going to win this game no matter what. And you win the game but you leave not with a great feeling about it even though you won," Romar said.
"Tonight was a good feeling. Not because of the score but because of our level of concentration."
Shawn Kemp Jr. scored 13 of his career-high 21 points in the first half, Andrew Andrews added 16 points and Washington (9-0) extended its best start since beginning the 2005-06 season 11-0.
The Huskies led 45-13 at halftime, by as many as 51 in the second half and now get arguably their toughest non-conference test on Saturday when they face No. 15 Oklahoma in Las Vegas.
"You try and have as much fun out there every game you play, but you've got the mental part of it sticking with what you do and trying not to get carried away and playing the right way," Andrews said. "This was a good challenge for us mentally."
Kemp and his teammates dominated the undersized Tigers inside. Kemp shot 6 of 9 in the first half with four dunks. Robert Upshaw added 15 points and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds.
Nigel Williams-Goss finished with nine points, six rebounds and 11 assists for Washington.
A'Torri Shine led the Tigers (2-7) with 12 points. Grambling was outscored 157-81 during a Pacific Northwest swing against Oregon State and Washington.
Grambling had droughts of six and seven minutes in the first half without scoring. The Tigers got a basket in the lane and a deep 3-pointer from Shine in the final 90 seconds of the half to reach double figures. Only three players scored for Grambling in the first half.
INTERIOR PRESENCE
The 6-foot-10 Kemp and 6-11 Upshaw had too much size for the Tigers to stay competitive. Washington led 17-3, 35-6 and 40-8 at various points of the first half. With 4:16 left, Washington already had more dunks (seven) than Grambling had points (six). The Huskies had 14 assists on 17 first-half field goals.
The Huskies outrebounded Grambling 50-30 and scored 50 points in the paint.
"All we had to do is throw the ball over the top pretty much," Kemp said.
STARTS WITH DEFENSE
Grambling became the fourth team this season Washington has held under 60 points. The Huskies held opponents under 60 only three times all of last season.
Since 1996, Washington has held five teams under 45 points, two coming this season.
TIP-INS
Grambling: The Tigers ranked 347th in the country in field goal percentage coming into the game (35 percent) and didn't help that number. Grambling shot 20.8 percent in the first half and 23.3 percent for the game.
Washington: Upshaw began the night leading the country with 4.8 blocks per game. He finished with four, and the intimidation he provided was obvious. Midway through the first half, Grambling's Chase Cormier was so worried about Upshaw that his floater in the lane went over the entire backboard and out of bounds. Cormier scored in the second half over Upshaw.
UP NEXT
Grambling State: The Tigers continue their road trip against TCU on Monday night.
Washington: The Huskies get their final major test before the start of Pac-12 play when they face 15th-ranked Oklahoma at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, the site of the Pac-12 tournament in March.
