Terrence Ross lifts Washington men over Oregon, 87-69

The Huskies found something rare two weeks ago.

Or, rather, they discovered someone on the roster capable of taking over games when Isaiah Thomas falters or Matthew Byran-Amaning is handcuffed by defensive double-teams.

In his first Pac-10 game last week, freshman Terrence Ross was the catalyst in a hard-fought Washington win at USC.

The game in Los Angeles was not televised, depriving Huskies fans from witnessing Ross' career-best performance and elevating his breathtaking exploits to folklore.

Thursday night in the home conference opener against Northwest rival Oregon, Ross again stole the show with 25 points, a career high, in the Huskies' 87-69 win at Edmundson Pavilion.

"Tonight he was able to show more of his array of offensive moves," coach Lorenzo Romar said. "That game at USC was a heavyweight title fight. We were down early. Every basket, every possession was monumental. And he hit big shot after big shot in that game.

"So it was a little different than this game tonight. This game tonight was a lot more wide open than the other one."

What a week it's been for Ross, who is averaging 16.7 points in three Pac-10 games.

The genesis for his improved play actually began two weeks ago in practice. To hear Romar tell it, the 6-foot-6 guard stopped playing like a freshman. Suddenly his jaw-dropping skills began to show.

"There's no coincidence we're seeing Terrence Ross' athleticism more," Romar said. "When you're thinking, it takes your athleticism away. He hadn't learned how to play right yet.

"That day, defensively he was in the right spots. He was doing what he was supposed to do."

The Huskies (11-3, 3-0 Pac-10) needed Ross because for the first time in 42 games, Abdul Gaddy was not in the starting lineup. The sophomore point guard suffered a season-ending knee injury Tuesday.

Senior Venoy Overton started in place of Gaddy and the Huskies received significant contributions from several players to offset the loss of their starting point guard.

Thomas (20 points, nine assists, six rebounds and three steals) moved from shooting guard to point guard for long stretches and also ran the offense.

Matthew Bryan-Amaning finished with 13 points and eight rebounds, and reserve Scott Suggs sank three three-pointers en route to 13 points.

But this game was all about Ross and the Huskies' ability to decipher Oregon's pesky defense.

Washington led 39-33 at halftime and watched Oregon (7-8, 0-3) take a 47-46 early in the second half on a three-pointer from freshman Jonathan Loyd.

Senior forward Joevan Catron (20 points and 10 rebounds) carried the Ducks until Washington surrounded him with a zone, sparking a 22-8 UW run.

With the score tied at 51, Suggs sank a trey to begin the spurt and Ross capped the game-turning run when he flushed an alley-oop jam from Thomas.

"Terrance Ross looked at me and said throw it up, so I threw it up," Thomas said. "I thought I threw it too high at first, but he went and got it. He had a great game today."

Ross turned the game into a showcase.

He sank three three-pointers. He blew past the Ducks in the lane with spin moves. He intercepted a pass in the first half, one of his four steals. He swatted Catron's short jumper. He contorted for layups and double-clutched despite being fouled.

And he hit 11 of 18 shots, including three crowd-pleasing dunks that brought the 9,692 in attendance to their feet.

"I can't say that's the best I'm able to play because, honestly, I feel there's so much more that I can do," Ross said. "I'm just reacting. I don't plan any of it. I'm just doing what feels right."

When asked what was his favorite play, Ross said he enjoyed watching Thomas' breakaway dunk in the final minutes. It was the first slam in his three-year college career.

"He's been talking about dunking since the start of the year," Ross said. "And to see him finally do it, everybody went crazy. I'm so happy for him."

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

OREGON 69
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Jacob	20	4-9	0-0	0-2	0	3	8
Singler	30	2-5	2-2	1-3	2	1	6
Catron	27	5-14	9-10	4-10	0	4	20
Sim	24	5-7	1-1	0-0	2	1	13
Loyd	21	1-8	0-0	0-1	4	1	3
Fearn	4	0-1	0-0	1-1	0	1	0
Losli	2	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0
Armstead	15	0-4	0-0	0-2	3	1	0
Williams	21	2-4	2-2	1-3	2	0	7
Nared	15	2-3	0-0	2-4	1	0	4
Strwbrdge	21	3-6	0-0	0-1	0	3	8
	200	24-61	14-15	10-31	14	15	69

Percentages: FG .393, FT .933. Three-point goals: 7-17, .412 (Strowbridge 2-3, Sim 2-4, Williams 1-2, Catron 1-2, Loyd 1-4, Armstead 0-1, Singler 0-1). Team rebounds: 4. Blocked shots: 3 (Williams, Nared, Singler). Turnovers: 15 (Armstead 3, Singler 3, Strowbridge 2, Sim 2, Losli, Jacob, Catron, Loyd, Williams). Steals: 5 (Catron, Jacob, Nared, Singler, Armstead).

WASHINGTON 87
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Brn-Amng	30	6-12	1-2	3-8	0	2	13
Holiday	26	3-6	0-0	0-3	2	3	7
N'Diaye	19	1-1	0-0	1-3	0	1	2
Overton	20	1-3	0-0	0-3	5	1	3
Thomas	30	7-14	4-6	3-6	9	1	20
Hosley	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0
Suggs	28	5-8	0-0	1-2	1	1	13
Wilcox	4	0-2	0-0	0-1	0	0	0
Ross	27	11-18	0-2	0-4	1	1	25
Sherrer	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0
Gant	14	2-6	0-0	3-4	1	2	4
	200	36-70	5-10	14-40	19	12	87

Percentages: FG .514, FT .500. Three-point goals: 10-26, .385 (Suggs 3-5, Ross 3-7, Thomas 2-4, Overton 1-3, Holiday 1-4, Wilcox 0-1, Gant 0-2). Team rebounds: 6. Blocked shots: 7 (Bryan-Amaning 2, Ross 2, N'Diaye 2, Holiday). Turnovers: 12 (Overton 3, Thomas 3, Suggs 2, Bryan-Amaning 2, N'Diaye, Holiday). Steals: 9 (Ross 4, Thomas 3, Suggs, Overton).

Oregon	33	36	—	69
Washington	39	48	—	87

Attendance: 9,692. Officials: Randy McCall, David Hall, Mike Littlewood.