UW men keep Big Ten tournament hopes alive with crucial win at Penn State

In a game it absolutely needed to win to preserve hopes of reaching the Big Ten tournament, the Washington men’s basketball team overcame a 13-point deficit and held off Penn State in the final seconds for a gritty 75-73 victory in the first-ever matchup between the two teams.

There were several heroes for the Huskies on Saturday.

Mekhi Mason canned a career-high six three-pointers while leading the way with 20 points.

Great Osobor nearly tallied the first triple-double in UW history and finished with six points, 13 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists.

Franck Kepnang came off the bench and finished with a season-high 14 points, including two rim-rattling dunks, five rebounds and four blocks.

Zoom Diallo reached double-digit scoring in his fourth straight game and had scored 12 points while DJ Davis, who has made 30 straight free throws, sealed the win with a clutch three-pointer in the final minute en route to 14 points as a reserve.

“Everybody did their part,” said coach Danny Sprinkle, who heaped copious amounts of praise on the Huskies. “To only have 13 turnovers against an aggressive team like that, you know that that was huge. That was the key to the game.

“… If we’re shooting like that, we can beat anybody.”

Washington shot 43.9% from the field, 47.8% on three-pointers (11-of-23) and converted 14 of 19 free throws.

Penn State had just as many field goals (25) and free throws as UW, but made just 9 of 28 three-pointers, which proved to be the difference in the game.

Both teams understood their postseason dreams potentially hung in the balance and played with a passion that belied two squads at the bottom of the conference standings.

With the win, Washington (13-12) moved into a tie for 16th place with Northwestern at 4-10 in league play. The Huskies beat Northwestern to give them the head-to-head tiebreaker advantage that could decide their postseason fate; The top 15 teams advance to the Big Ten tournament.

“All this does is just makes the next game bigger,” Sprinkle said. “But this was our best win of the year.”

That’s high praise considering Washington played one of its worst games three days earlier and lost 93-69 at Ohio State.

Several UW players were also dealing with flu-like symptoms while making their longest trip of the season to University Park, Pa.

“To come in here after playing the way we did and come into an environment that’s kind of sleepy, it’s been cold the last couple of days,” said Sprinkle, noting the crowd of 9,933 at Bryce Jordan Center. “And to be honest, I’m sick. Our team is sick. These guys fought through a lot and we’re not going to make excuses. Great didn’t even practice (on Thursday) because he had the flu so bad.

“Credit all of these guys for playing their butts off.”

Penn State took control early when guard D’Marco Dunn raced past Mason and elevated over Osobor for a layup that put the Nittany Lions up 27-17 with 8:53 left in the first half.

Soon after, Zach Hicks curled around a screen on the perimeter to elude Tyler Harris and drained a three-pointer despite Harris’ foul. After making the ensuing free throw, the Nittany Lions led 31-18.

The Huskies answered with a 9-0 run that began with a jumper, layup and free throw from Diallo. Then Kepnang capped the spurt with a dunk and baseline jumper that cut UW’s deficit to 31-27.

Minutes later, Kepnang knifed through the lane for a high-flying slam over two defenders, was fouled and flexed upon landing. After Kepnang connected on the ensuing free throw, Washington trailed 38-34 at halftime.

Early in the second half, the Huskies took the first lead when Diallo jumped over Penn State guard Ace Baldwin Jr. for a layup and made a free throw that put them ahead 40-38.

Osobor found Mason in the corner for a three-pointer that put UW on top 70-68. It was Osobor’s 10th assist and Mason’s sixth three-pointer.

The Nittany Lions looked as if they would tie it up on a dunk by Yanic Konan Niederhauser, but Kepnang erased the attempt with a block from behind.

With UW ahead 72-71 in the final minute, Davis drained a three-pointer in the corner in front of the Huskies’ bench for a 75-71 lead.

However, a Harris turnover gave Penn State the ball with 40 seconds left and UW leading 75-73.

Baldwin missed a midrange shot over Mason, but after Diallo misfired on a free throw, Penn State had one more chance to tie or win.

This time, Baldwin’s three-pointer over Osobor fell short and into Diallo’s arms as time expired.

Baldwin finished with 20 points and eight assists, while Freddie Dilione had 15 and Dunn 12 for the Nittany Lions (13-13, 3-12 in Big Ten), who have now lost seven straight games and 11 of the past 12.

Washington has six regular-season games remaining, including Wednesday’s matchup against Rutgers.