Dawgs Show More Bark In 73-62 Win Over NAU

SEATTLE – Emmitt Matthews Jr. tallied his first 20-point game in nearly three years and the Huskies turned up the defense Thursday night to beat Northern Arizona, 73-62, at Alaska Airlines Arena. The win evened Washington's record to 1-1 and dropped the Lumberjacks to 0-2 on the season, with both losses coming at the hands of Pac-12 opponents.
 
Matthews scored 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting and nearly missed a double-double, pulling down nine rebounds. It was the third 20-point effort in 94 collegiate appearances – 92 of which came at West Virginia – and his first since Mar. 25, 2019 vs. Coastal Carolina.
 
Jamal Bey chipped in 15 points in 33 minutes of action, and Terrell Brown Jr. had 11 in a team-high 34 minutes. Daejon Davis scored 10 points before fouling out late in the second half.
 
For the first 27 minutes, Washington struggled to pull away from NAU. Ezekiel Richards hit a pair of free throws with 13:30 remaining to give NAU a 48-46 lead, which seemingly sparked the Huskies – especially their defense. They would force six turnovers during the ensuing five-minute stretch and go on a 10-0 run, which featured two buckets by Matthews and six free throw makes.
 
The Lumberjacks would not go away though. NAU whittled the Huskies lead back down to four points, 59-55, with 6:16 remaining, but Matthews would bury a three-point bucket in front of his bench as the shot clock wound down to give the Huskies a seven-point advantage.
 
Terrell Brown Jr. would give the Huskies their biggest lead of the game, 69-56, with his own five-point run – two free throws and a three-point play – igniting the Huskies' crowd of 6,297.
 
After a pair of free throws by Brown, PJ Fuller blocked a dunk attempt by Carson Towt, leading to a fast break in which Brown hit a driving layup and was knocked to the floor by Towt on the play.
 
The Huskies held the Lumberjacks to just one field goal over the final 6:16 of the game and outscored NAU 41-32 in the second half after taking a 32-30 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
The Huskies return to action on Monday, Nov. 15 against Texas Southern with a 6:00 p.m. tip time at Alaska Airlines Arena.