SEATTLE – Andrew Andrews scored 12 of his 19 points in the final nine minutes, and Washington held on in the final seconds for a 59-57 win over Utah on Wednesday night in the Huskies conference home opener.
Coming off a split in the desert, Washington could not shake the Utes (12-3, 1-2 Pac-12) until the final seconds when Delon Wright's desperation attempt 3-pointer from the corner was off the mark.
Andrews put Washington in position to get the victory. It was his three-point play with 8:43 left that gave Washington a 44-43 lead and the Huskies never again trailed despite being pushed. C.J. Wilcox added 14 points and Nigel Williams-Goss scored 13 for the Huskies (10-6, 2-1).
Wright led Utah with 27 points and 11 rebounds, but the Utes made 1 of 15 3-point attempts. Utah came in to Wednesday night shooting 36 percent on 3s.
Even with Andrews' hot shooting down the stretch, the Huskies nearly coughed up a nine-point lead in the final two minutes.
Wright's 3-pointer with 14.1 seconds left cut the Huskies lead to 59-57. It was the Utes first made 3. Andrews was fouled and missed the front-end of a one-and-one, but the rebound went out of bounds off the Utes. After a timeout Washington's Mike Anderson threw away the inbound pass and Utah took possession with 9.2 seconds left down two.
Wright was forced into the corner and his contested 3-pointer at the buzzer was off line. It was the second time in three conference games the Utes couldn't pull out a victory in the final seconds, losing 70-68 to Oregon in overtime in the conference opener.
Jordan Loveridge added 10 points for the Utes. Brandon Taylor, Utah's third-leading scorer, was held to four points on 2-of-11 shooting.
Washington tried to pull away at several points in the second half, but Andrews was there with an answer.
Princeton Onwas scored six straight points for Utah and driving baskets by Loveridge and Wright gave the Utes a 43-41 lead with 8:58 left. Andrews' three-point play gave Washington a 44-43 lead, a pair of transition baskets — layups by Wilcox and Anderson off turnovers — pushed the Huskies lead to five.
Twice Utah closed within two. Andrews answered the first time with a fadeaway midrange jumper and after Wright scored to cut the lead to 52-50, Williams-Goss beat the Utes down court and scored on a driving layup for a 54-50 lead with 3:23 left.
Utah went inside to Dallin Bachynski, but he was stripped and Andrews was fouled. Washington was not in the bonus, but Andrews converted with a 15-footer and a 56-50 lead with 2:45 left. Andrews then capped his night with a leaning 3-pointer with 1:51 left as the shot clock was about to expire to give Washington a nine-point lead that appeared safe until Utah's final surge made things closer than the Huskies wanted.
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