Keion Brooks Jr. has emerged from a three-game slumber and now looks to lead Washington to its fourth straight win when the Huskies visit Stanford in Pac-12 play Sunday.
Brooks topped the 20-point mark is six of seven games before suddenly losing his shooting touch. He went 14 of 44 from the field (31.8 percent) while averaging just 11 points during his slump before returning to form with 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting in Thursday’s 65-56 victory over host California.
It was the 12th 20-point outing of the season for the Kentucky transfer. He’s averaging a team-high 17.7 points.
“I had a three-game stretch that was a little tough,” Brooks said. “I wasn’t playing to my standard, but we were winning, and my teammates picked me up so it’s about time that I came out and did my part.”
Brooks also collected 11 rebounds for his seventh double-digit effort on the boards. He is averaging 7.1 rebounds, just behind team leader Braxton Meah (7.2).
Washington (16-13, 8-10 Pac-12) held an 18-point lead with 12:03 to play and allowed the Golden Bears to move within six with 5:41 left before finishing off the victory.
“We couldn’t seem to put them away,” Huskies coach Mike Hopkins said. “They’re at home. They’re fighting, but our guys at the end of the day found a way to win. We made some foul shots down the stretch and got the stops we needed.”
The Huskies are in eighth place in the conference race, while Stanford (11-17, 5-12) is 10th after losing three straight games and five of its past six.
The Cardinal lost 67-63 to visiting Washington State on Thursday when it didn’t score over the final 2:51. TJ Bamba of the Cougars made the tiebreaking jumper with 45.9 seconds to go.
Brandon Angel scored 17 points and Harrison Ingram added 15 for Stanford. Angel matched his career high of four 3-pointers while Ingram knocked down three.
Spencer Jones, who averages a team-best 13 points per game, tallied just seven on 3-of-10 shooting against Washington State. He has scored in single digits in two of the past three games.
Stanford shoots just 70.1 percent from the free-throw line and commits 12.8 turnovers per game.
“We need to be able to play and not turn the basketball over and play strong offensively, so that nothing bothers us,” Cardinal coach Jerod Haase said recently.
Stanford has won five of the past seven meetings but was routed 86-69 by the Huskies in Seattle on Jan. 12. Meah had a career-best 21 points and Brooks had 19 for Washington, while Jones had 12 for the Cardinal.
–Field Level Media
