Washington Suffers First Defeat of Season

SEATTLE (AP) – Washington (3-1) fell to California Baptist by a score of 73-64 on Thursday night in the first meeting between the teams.

Franck Kepnang led the Huskies with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting and eight rebounds. Keion Brooks Jr., who returned to the lineup after a two-game absence, and PJ Fuller II also reached double figures with 11 points each.

"This doesn't define our season," Head Coach Mike Hopkins said following the game. "We have to learn from it and get better."

The Huskies hit a couple of threes to open the game and led 8-0 but Cal Baptist (3-1) quickly got back in the game with an 11-0 run that was good for a 15-10 lead.

The Lancers hit 5 of 9 behind the arc to lead 33-26 at the break. Washington was 3 of 10 from distance and shot 32%.

California Baptist made 7 of 16 3-pointers and shot 51%, 58% in the second half (11 of 19) and ended up 19-of-29 from the foul line, 16 makes coming in the second half.

Taran Armstrong scored 18 points with six assists, Joe Quintana added 17 points and Timothy Ighoefe added 10 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks in the win.

California Baptist never trailed after Armstrong's jumper and Quintana's 3-pointer made it 22-19 with 6:44 to go in the first half. The Lancers led by as many as 12 in the second half and let Washington get within four once.

It was 62-57 after a dunk by Kepnang with 3:34 to go but Armstrong quickly responded with a three-point play and followed that up with a 3-pointer and it was back to 11 at the 2:39 mark.

The Huskies now look ahead to a trip to Anaheim for the Wooden Legacy next Wednesday, facing Fresno State.