Troika keys Huskies’ victory

Washington 92, Cal 71

Date: January 16, 2011

Venue: Haas Pavilion

City: Berkeley, Calif.

Attendance: 8,649

Isaiah Thomas had the best all-around game of his career in leading the Washington Huskies to a 92-71 rout of the Cal Bears in a nationally televised game Sunday night. Thomas had a season-high 27 points – three shy of his career-high – and a career-high 13 assists as the Huskies (13-4, 5-1 in the Pac-10) recovered nicely from their 58-56 upset loss to Stanford on Thursday. Justin Holiday was the primary beneficiary of Thomas’ largess. He finished with a career-high 23 points. Matthew Bryan-Amaning also had 22 points. The Bears were led by Harper Kamp with 20 points and Allen Crabbe had 16. The Huskies led 23-22 with 8:10 left then out-scored the Bears 25-11 through the rest of the half. Washington shot 52.3 (34 of 65) from the floor. They also made 13 three-pointers in 29 attempts (44.8 percent).

Star Of The Game
Isaiah Thomas Coach Lorenzo Romar said Thomas had “the best performance he has had as a Husky.” He scored 27 points with a career-high 13 assists.

Play of the game
Justin Holiday hit a pair of three-pointers within the first 50 seconds of the second half, feeding the momentum for the 19-point rout.

Highlights

• Isaiah Thomas scored 27 points and dished a career-high 13 assists in perhaps his best overall game of his career.
• Justin Holiday dropped in a career-high 23 points. He made 9 of 14 shot attempts, including 5-of-8 from three-point range.
• Matthew Bryan-Amaning had his sixth double-double of the season with 22 points and 11 rebounds. He had 10 of 15 attempts.

Notable

• Thomas had 13 assists, the eighth time in school history a player had at least 13.
• Aziz N’Diaye Fouled out in just 16 minutes of play. Did not score and finished with three rebounds.
• Antoine Hosley Made a late appearance against Cal.
• Terrence Ross Played 17 minutes and scored three points off the bench.
• C.J. Wilcox Scored five points in his six minutes.
• Brendan Sherrer Played two minutes in win over Cal.
• Darnell Gant Fouled out in 20 minutes of play. Secured five rebounds.
• Venoy Overton Played just 14 minutes and was quiet with three points and two rebounds. Came off the bench after starting three consecutive games.
• Scott Suggs Made his first career start and finished with three points and four rebounds.

Said

• “That’s big, because what I get knocked for year in and year out is they say I don’t make my teammates better. But there so much talent on this team that I’m going to look so much better when I get others involved. I’m just making the right plays.” Isaiah Thomas, Washington guard, on the fact that he leads the Pac-10 in assists at 5.4 per game.
• “That was the best performance he has had as a Husky.” — Lorenzo Romar, Washington head coach, on Isaiah Thomas’ 27-point, 13-assist effort against Cal.

Numbers

• 48.1. Scott Suggs’ 3-point shooting percentage, the highest in the Pac-10.
• 1. Cal’s lead in the all-time series, 77-76.