Quincy Pondexter powers Huskies in 111-55 romp over Portland State

Word leaked out of Portland this summer saying Phil Nelson, the former Husky, would get the better of former teammate Quincy Pondexter when the 14th-ranked Washington men's basketball team faced Portland State.

Nelson swears he had nothing to do with the chatter and believes "it was probably some fans just talking smack."

Whoever started the smack talk didn't much matter to Pondexter, who ended all rivalry discussions Sunday night when he led Washington to a 111-55 win that was the fifth-most lopsided margin of victory in the modern era of UW basketball.

"I wouldn't say this was my best game, but it was fun though," said Pondexter, who followed a fabulous outing in Saturday's win over Belmont with a performance for the ages before a crowd of 8,236 in the final game of the Athletes in Action Classic at Edmundson Pavilion.

The Husky senior wing set a career high with 29 points and his 13 rebounds tied a personal best. He converted 11 of 12 field goals, 7 of 8 free throws and had three assists in his best statistical game as a Husky.

In addition to a scintillating offensive display, Pondexter helped hold Nelson (13 points) scoreless in the second half.

"When you hear chatter about guys saying they're better than you or they had the game circled and they really want to come out and punch you in the mouth, [then] you got to get ready," Pondexter said. "I think we are the top dog and for them to come in here and beat us that would have been a big accomplishment for them and their season."

It looked as if Pondexter and Nelson, who transferred to PSU in 2007, were going to stage an epic battle as they exchanged baskets in the opening minutes.

"I talked to him a few times in the game," Pondexter said. "I told him I can't say what I told him. It was a friendly conversation a few times."

The Vikings raced out to a 10-4 lead, their largest advantage, and Nelson drained a three-pointer that gave PSU a 15-12 lead with 14 minutes left in the first half.

At that point, Washington went on a 22-2 run to blow the game open and outscored Portland State 40-17 to end the first half, taking a 55-29 lead into halftime.

The Huskies never looked back and never let up after intermission.

Less than two minutes into the second half, they led by 30. After five minutes it was a 40-point margin and with 5:20 left, UW was up by 50 (95-45).

It was the most points by the Huskies since scoring 112 against Loyola Marymount in 2005 and it was the kind of game that had UW officials scrambling for the record books.

Washington, which improved to 3-0, dominated every significant statistic. The Huskies had more rebounds (47-16), assists (25-10), fewer turnovers (11-20) and converted 60.6 percent from the field.

Isaiah Thomas, who rebounded from a slow start and scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half, was named co-MVP of the tournament with Pondexter.

Venoy Overton finished with 11 points and Justin Holiday had 10 for UW while Jamie Jones led Portland State (0-3) with 14.

"I've been waiting for this since I stepped foot in Seattle and on the University of Washington campus," Pondexter said. "You don't know what it takes to get to this point until you go through it and I appreciate every second that coach [Lorenzo] Romar has been by my side and helped mentor me through everything."

Percy Allen: 206-464-2278 or pallen@seattletimes.com

PORTLAND ST. 55
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
JThomas	23	1-5	0-0	1-5	2	2	2
Nelson	30	6-12	0-0	1-2	1	4	13
JJones	27	7-11	0-1	2-3	0	2	14
MJones	33	3-9	0-0	0-0	2	2	6
Waters	27	1-6	4-4	0-1	3	2	7
Guede	13	0-2	0-0	0-1	1	5	0
PThomas	8	1-1	1-1	1-1	0	1	3
Brandon	13	0-3	0-0	0-0	0	1	0
Johnson	11	1-2	0-0	0-0	1	0	3
Harriel	15	3-6	1-1	0-0	0	0	7
	200	23-57	6-7	6-16	10	19	55

Percentages: FG .404, FT .857. Three-point goals: 3-14, .214 (Waters 1-2, Johnson 1-2, Nelson 1-3, Guede 0-1, Brandon 0-3, M.Jones 0-3). Team rebounds: 3. Blocked shots: 4 (Nelson 2, J.Thomas, J.Jones). Turnovers: 20 (Waters 4, Nelson 4, M.Jones 3, Guede 2, J.Thomas 2, Harriel 2, Brandon, Johnson, J.Jones). Steals: 3 (Waters, M.Jones, J.Jones). Technical fouls: None.

WASHINGTON 111
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Bryn-Amng	19	3-6	2-3	4-7	0	3	8
Gant	17	2-3	2-2	2-4	3	5	6
Overton	24	5-10	0-0	1-4	6	1	11
Thomas	24	8-14	1-2	0-6	1	1	21
Pondexter	27	11-12	7-8	6-13	3	0	29
Gaddy	20	3-6	3-3	1-2	4	1	9
Trent	13	4-4	0-1	1-2	1	1	8
Suggs	19	2-3	1-2	1-3	0	0	6
Holiday	21	4-7	0-0	0-2	5	1	10
Turner	14	1-5	1-2	0-1	2	1	3
Sherrer	2	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	1	0
	200	43-71	17-23	19-47	25	15	111

Percentages: FG .606, FT .739. Three-point goals: 8-17, .471 (Thomas 4-7, Holiday 2-2, Suggs 1-2, Overton 1-3, Gaddy 0-1, Turner 0-2). Team rebounds: 3. Blocked shots: 4 (Gant 2, Gaddy, Bryan-Amaning). Turnovers: 11 (Thomas 3, Overton 3, Suggs 2, Gaddy, Turner, Holiday). Steals: 10 (Overton 3, Bryan-Amaning 3, Holiday 2, Pondexter, Turner). Technical fouls: None.

Portland St.	29	26	—	55
Washington	55	56	—	111

Attendance: 8,236. Officials: Bruce Hicks, Don McAllister, Gregory Nixon.