SEATTLE — For all the attention focused on Isaiah Stewart and Jaden McDaniels, the other two freshman for Washington finally got their chance to shine.
RaeQuan Battle and Marcus Tsohonis aren’t secrets anymore.
“Obviously me and Jaden are playing a lot and to see Marcus and RaeQuan come out and do their thing and score in double digits, it felt great,” Stewart said. “I was really happy for them.”
Stewart scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half, Battle and Tsohonis both chipped in with 11 points, and Washington beat Oregon State 64-56 on Thursday night.
Washington (12-6, 2-3 Pac-12) rebounded from a miserable trip to the Bay Area with a pair of losses last week thanks to a new-look lineup that provided the Huskies a needed spark. Jaden McDaniels did not play after starting the first 17 games due to an ankle injury suffered in the overtime loss to California last Saturday.
With McDaniels not playing, Battle was inserted into the starting lineup and gave Washington the kind of outside presence it needed with a trio of 3-pointers and all 11 of his points in the first half. The shooting from the outside opened up the lane for Stewart in the second half as the Beavers were unable to run constant double teams at Washington’s star freshman.
“We had one thing under (Battle’s) name and it was ‘shooter.’ Don’t let him shoot 3s,” Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle said. “One of our veterans on the very first play lost him … and he drilled a 3 from the corner.”
Stewart made 6 of 9 shots, and then it was Tsohonis’ turn to chip in. Coming off the bench, the reserve point guard did exactly what coach Mike Hopkins wanted, getting Washington into the right sets on offense and being aggressive at the top of the zone on the defensive end. Tsohonis added three assists, one steal and one block in 29 minutes.
“He showed exceptional poise. He got us in our offense. He played really good defense,” Hopkins said of Tsohonis. “The two young guys were key.”
Jamal Bey also had 11 points and Nahziah Carter added 10. The Huskies were 9 of 22 on 3-pointers, and made 6 of 11 in the first half. They were shooting just 31.7% on 3s entering the game.
Kylor Kelley led Oregon State (12-5, 2-3) with 16 points and Tres Tinkle added 15. But Tinkle was just 2 of 12 from the field and the Beavers missed their first eight 3-point attempts. It was a dud of a response by the Beavers after last Sunday’s impressive home win over Arizona.
Oregon State’s No. 2 scorer, Ethan Thompson, had just six points. He was averaging 16.8 per game.
“We got really stubborn trying to drive it in there and initiate contact and you can’t do that,” Tinkle said.
Washington led by as many as 18 in the second half, but it was a big first 20 minutes and the unexpected contribution from Battle that keyed the victory
Battle had appeared in just six games and played a total of 35 minutes scoring eight points. But he was an unexpected starter with McDaniels not playing and Washington still adjusting to losing starting point guard Quade Green last week when he was ruled academically ineligible.
Battle knocked down his first shot on a corner 3 on Washington’s first possession. It was the start of a big first-half when the Huskies got just two points from Stewart.
Battle said several of the older players had told him not to get discouraged and his opportunity would come.
“They just told me it was going to happen, so expect it and take advantage every time you step on the court,” Battle said.
THE TAKEAWAY
Oregon State: The Beavers dominated the glass, outrebounding Washington 36-24. But it didn’t matter because of the first-half shooting woes. The Beavers shot just 27% for the half and missed 16 of their first 20 shots.
Washington: Along with the surprising contribution from Battle, the Huskies also got a boost from Tsohonis. The Huskies originally planned to redshirt Tsohonis but the loss of Green led to a change of plans and putting him in the lineup seems a wise move.
INJURIES
Hopkins said the expectation is McDaniels will play on Saturday against Oregon.
SLOW STARTS
It’s only the third week of conference play but Oregon State has lost the first game of each weekend matchup all three weeks. The Beavers lost at Utah, at home to Arizona State and at Washington. They rebounded the first two weeks to win the second game, beating Colorado and Arizona.
“It’s only week three, but we’ve got to figure it out,” Tinkle said.
UP NEXT
Beavers are at Washington State on Saturday.
Huskies host No. 8 Oregon on Saturday.
