UW Men's Hoops | Huskies defeat Spartans, 80-70

Another ex-Husky returns home. And Quincy Pondexter sets another career scoring high in a Washington victory.

On Sunday, Portland State Vikings absorbed a 56-point defeat during Phil Nelson's Huskies homecoming.

Friday night, Adrian Oliver, who transferred to San Jose State in 2007, looked comfortable inside his old digs. However, the Huskies overwhelmed the Spartans' front line in an 80-70 victory in front of 8,155 at Edmundson Pavilion.

Pondexter, who topped the personal scoring best he set Sunday, finished with 30 points and 15 rebounds, both career highs.

Isaiah Thomas added 16 points, and Tyreese Breshers finished with 12 points and seven rebounds for the 14th-ranked Huskies (4-0).

Oliver, who tallied a game-high 32 points, kept San Jose State (1-1) close.

"It was a fun game, fun environment [and] good challenge for our team," Oliver said. "The only thing is we came out short. It was fun coming back here and seeing a lot of old faces, saying hello."

Pondexter and Oliver were members of the heralded Class of 2006 that included Spencer Hawes, who declared for the NBA draft after his freshman year, and Nelson.

"I didn't talk to him nearly as much as I talked to Phil," Pondexter said. "Adrian got what he wanted. He's at a school where he can score as many points as he wants, but I'd rather be here where I'm at. We're winning games. He got 32. I got the win. I'm happy."

The game gave Pondexter a chance to vent old frustrations against his former teammate and roommate whom he hadn't spoken to in nearly two years.

"I didn't talk to him until two months ago," Pondexter said. "He's in his situation and I'm in my situation. I felt stranded. Not only did he leave me as a teammate, he left me as a friend. He left me with the rent. He left everything.

"That was the last person I was close to and it was really tough my sophomore year because people bond to people that are in their recruiting class. I was kind of alone a lot of times."

In the first half, San Jose State kept it close partly because UW shot 35.3 percent (12 of 34) from the field.

The Huskies led 37-31 at the break, but it was apparent they were going to wear down SJSU after intermission because the Spartans had four players saddled with three fouls.

"We knew they were in foul trouble," UW coach Lorenzo Romar said. "We said we have to go right at them because they are either not going to foul us or they are going to foul out."

San Jose State resorted to a 12-man rotation, but it wasn't enough to slow down Pondexter. He repeatedly drove aggressively to the rim and scored 18 points in the second half.

"He was playing like he should," Thomas said. "He's playing really efficient and leading us. He's the captain of this team and is supposed to be doing the things that he does."

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

SAN JOSE ST. 70
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Webster	11	1-1	2-2	0-0	0	5	4
Jones	19	2-4	0-2	1-3	0	3	4
Oakes	34	3-10	2-2	7-12	0	4	8
Oliver	35	9-23	14-17	2-8	4	3	32
Graham	34	4-8	4-7	1-7	2	5	12
Thomas	22	1-3	3-6	1-3	0	3	5
Moor	4	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	1	0
Owens	25	1-4	0-1	0-1	1	1	3
Henson	2	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0
Peterson	11	0-1	0-0	1-2	1	0	0
Dixon	2	1-1	0-0	0-1	0	0	2
Ton	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0
	200	22-55	25-37	13-37	8	25	70

Percentages: FG .400, FT .676. Three-point goals: 1-5, .200 (Owens 1-3, Oliver 0-1, Peterson 0-1). Team rebounds: 0. Blocked shots: 4 (Oakes 3, Webster). Turnovers: 15 (Graham 4, Webster 2, Oliver 2, Henson 2, Oakes 2, Peterson, Thomas, Jones). Steals: 6 (Owens 2, Oakes 2, Jones, Graham). Technical fouls: None.

WASHINGTON 80
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Brn-Amng	18	2-5	0-2	1-2	2	4	4
Gant	9	0-1	0-0	0-2	0	0	0
Overton	20	0-4	2-2	0-0	3	5	2
Thomas	30	4-13	6-6	0-3	0	2	16
Pondexter	29	10-18	10-13	5-15	0	3	30
Gaddy	25	1-6	2-2	0-1	7	1	4
Trent	13	2-2	0-1	4-5	1	2	4
Suggs	6	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	1	0
Holiday	19	1-3	0-0	1-4	3	3	2
Turner	11	2-6	0-0	0-2	0	0	6
Breshers	20	5-7	2-5	2-7	0	4	12
	200	27-65	22-31	16-44	16	25	80

Percentages: FG .415, FT .710. Three-point goals: 4-18, .222 (Turner 2-5, Thomas 2-7, Pondexter 0-1, Overton 0-1, Holiday 0-2, Gaddy 0-2). Team rebounds: 3. Blocked shots: 1 (Trent). Turnovers: 12 (Thomas 3, Overton 3, Pondexter 2, Trent 2, Bryan-Amaning, Holiday). Steals: 2 (Breshers, Overton). Technical fouls: Bench.

San Jose St.	31	39	—	70
Washington	37	43	—	80

Attendance: 8,155. Officials: Dick Cartmell, Scott Thornley, Randall McCall.