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Washington kicks off a three-game road trip to California on Thursday when it tangles with Colorado State on Day 1 of the Acrisure Invitational in Palm Desert.

The opportunity to bond on a road trip is what Washington coach Danny Sprinkle said the Huskies need.

“I think it will be great for our team,” Sprinkle said. “Sometimes when you go on the road it gives you a chance to come together. It’s like you against the world and while we’ve improved in some things, we are still struggling in some spots on offense and defense. It’ll be like that for a while until we start forming our team.”

The Huskies (4-1) knocked off Alcorn State 77-60 last Friday behind 27 points from leading scorer Tyler Harris. The sophomore guard also pulled down eight rebounds and shot 3-for-5 from 3-point range. Zoom Diallo averages 9.4 points per game yet tallied 15 against Alcorn State.

Even though the Rams (3-2) lost to UC Riverside at home, 77-75, in overtime last Wednesday, Sprinkle said the Huskies face a stiff challenge. Jaylen Crocker-Johnson came off the bench to lead Colorado State with 21 points and seven rebounds. Nique Clifford and Kyle Jorgensen each chipped in 13 points.

“I know how good Colorado State is,” said Sprinkle, who coached at Utah State last season, a Mountain West rival of the Rams. “I know how well coached they are, how they play with pace. They’ve got Nique Clifford who is a pro on the wing. They have guys that play their role and are all capable of scoring.”

The Rams were outrebounded 51-30 and each team struggled to shoot from the floor. UC Riverside shot 41.5 percent while the Rams shot 40.3 percent. It’s a strong defensive effort that Rams coach Niko Medved embraced, while adding CSU has to shoot better.

“When you hold a team to 40 percent in your gym you’ve got to find a way to win,” Medved said. “The rebounding really hurt us tonight.”

“We played some good defense in stretches. But we have to find a way to score. It’s going to be hard to win games if we can’t find a way to score.”

After the two games in Palm Desert, the Huskies travel to Los Angeles for a game at UCLA on Dec. 3.

–Field Level Media