Tyler Harris scored a career-high 27 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds as Washington pulled away late to defeat Alcorn State 77-60 on Friday night in a nonconference game in Seattle.
Zoom Diallo added 15 points for the Huskies (4-1) in a game that featured seven ties and seven lead changes. Great Osobor, a preseason all-Big Ten selection who entered the game leading UW with 14.8 points and 13.0 rebounds per game, managed just eight points on 2-of-4 shooting from the field and four boards in 29 minutes.
Keionte Cornelius led a balanced attack with 13 points for the Braves (0-6). Marcus Tankersley scored 12 and Michael Pajeaud added 10 points and a team-high six rebounds.
Washington shot 49 percent from the field and won the rebounding battle 36-30. The Huskies had a 32-18 advantage in points in the paint and 17-6 on second-chance points.
The Huskies led 14-8 when Alcorn State’s Omari Hamilton sparked an 8-0 run, scoring six points during the span.
The Braves increased their lead to 30-24 with 4:49 left in the half before the Huskies’ Jase Butler made a 3-pointer that ignited a 6-0 run to even the score. Washington led 36-34 at the half on Mekhi Mason’s putback at the buzzer.
Harris, a sophomore transfer from Portland, led the UW with 12 points at the intermission. Hamilton, Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt, Cornelius and Tankersley scored six points apiece for the Braves before the break.
The Huskies didn’t take a double-digit lead until Diallo’s two free throws capped a 9-0 run to make it 60-50 with 9:25 remaining.
Alcorn State entered the game last in NCAA Division I in shooting percentage (.329) and second to last in scoring with 52 points per game.
The Braves shot 48.1 percent in the first half (13 of 27) and surpassed their season scoring average when Cornelius made two free throws with 7:10 left to cut Washington’s lead to 63-54. Alcorn State made just 10 of 31 attempts in the second half to finish the game at 39.7 percent.
–Field Level Media
