Washington aims to post a second consecutive victory when it entertains North Florida on Friday night in Seattle.
The Huskies (1-0) eventually separated from Weber State to notch a 69-52 victory in Monday’s opener.
North Florida (0-1) is in the state of Washington for a second consecutive game. The Ospreys were pounded 104-63 by No. 2 Gonzaga in Spokane on Monday.
Kentucky transfer Keion Brooks Jr. delivered 20 points and seven rebounds in his Washington debut against Weber State. He scored 20 points four times in 80 games with John Calipari’s Wildcats.
The Huskies were solid on the boards with a 35-24 rebounding advantage and 18-1 edge in second-chance points.
PJ Fuller II was the only other Washington player in double figures with 10 points, but freshman Keyon Menifield also impressed with eight points in 13 minutes. Menifield was 3 of 4 shooting and made both 3-pointers he attempted.
“Keyon Menifield is a guy from Flint, Michigan, who knows how to score,” Huskies coach Mike Hopkins said. “He does it at an elite level. He’s been a nice surprise.”
North Florida led Gonzaga 10-8 three minutes into the contest before the Bulldogs delivered the knockout punch.
Gonzaga rolled off 26 points as the Ospreys went eight minutes, 38 seconds without scoring. North Florida missed 11 straight shots during the funk.
“You can’t let someone go on a 26-0 run,” Ospreys coach Matthew Driscoll said. “We had too many turnovers that led to easy baskets.”
Carter Hendricksen had 16 points and eight rebounds for North Florida. He also became the eighth player in school history to make 200 career 3-pointers. His total sits at 201.
Hendricksen had made more than 40 3-pointers in each of the previous three campaigns, including a career-high 84 during the 2019-20 season.
Jadyn Parker scored 13 points and Jose Placer added 12 against Gonzaga. The Ospreys committed 22 turnovers and were outrebounded 41-30.
This is the first meeting between the two programs.
–Field Level Media
