Brockman was like no other Husky

PORTLAND — No more Jon Brockman.

Of all the disappointment Saturday wrought, that reality stung most after an intense, furious Washington rally fell a basket short at the Rose Garden. It left teammates sitting at their lockers, solemn and tearful. It left his coach, not prone to hyperbole, making grand statements about the big man.

The roughest yet steadiest Husky played his last game, shoving and elbowing and slapping at the idea until the final horn sounded. Brockman exited the way you expected him to leave, with 20 punishing points and 18 relentless rebounds.

But in his beastly farewell, the Huskies, who acquired their star's fierceness during this uplifting season, lost in a manner they hadn't all season. A 35-game joy ride with the top down concluded because, for once, the Huskies encountered a more dogged basketball team.

Purdue won 76-74 in a second-round NCAA tournament game with a style that only Brockman's Huskies could appreciate. The Boilermakers triumphed on fortitude. They survived a basketball game with more mood swings than Mike Tyson. They thrived on tailbone-bruising physical play and outlasted their foe with a brand of late-game toughness the Huskies usually exhibit.

It was disappointing, yet fitting, to realize the play that should most define Brockman's finale included the grit of consecutive blocks from Purdue center JaJuan Johnson on two shots in the paint from Isaiah Thomas and Quincy Pondexter. If the Huskies had converted, they would've tied the game at 73.

"That was probably the play of the game," Purdue coach Matt Painter said.

The Huskies will look back at several missed opportunities, including Thomas' errant hanging layup with 18.8 seconds remaining, but they won't be able to deny Purdue was tougher.

The Boilermakers played tenacious perimeter defense on a team accustomed to doing the harassing. They matched the rebounding prowess of a team accustomed to owning the boards. In the end, they found a way to hold onto a wire-to-wire lead and defeat a team accustomed to discovering creative ways to triumph.

To beat the Huskies, they had to be the Huskies. It worked.

Of course, Brockman had trouble processing that this was the end. His sore wrist and broken nose didn't ache as much as the abrupt exit.

"I'm sure it will keep hitting me when I start realizing more and more things that I won't ever do again," Brockman said. "But the fact that these guys were able to help me get back to the tournament, I'd do anything for them. And I think it's the same way. The saddest thing about the whole thing, when you look at everything, it's the last time this group will play together. And that probably hurts more than anything."

In Purdue, the Huskies ran into a team that harassed them like they hadn't seen since they played Kansas in November. During the time it took Washington to adjust to the Boilermakers' defense, Purdue built a 14-point lead.

Familiar offensive bugaboos plagued the Huskies. Justin Dentmon couldn't find his rhythm, and all perimeter players settled for too many quick shots. You feared the Huskies' offensive inefficiency over the past month would haunt them eventually. On Saturday, it turned into a death knell.

"I think it just really startled them," Purdue guard Keaton Grant said.

In the second half, Washington figured out Purdue's defense and staged a riveting comeback. It felt as if the Huskies would win if they could tie the Boilermakers and shift the pressure onto their opponent in the closing minutes. That tie never came. Purdue survived.

When it was over, Brockman stood at center court, bent over and stared at the hardwood floor a few seconds.

"I knew at halftime we were going to get back in the game," Brockman said. "And I knew, as soon as we started rolling, I really believed we were going to get over that two-point hump and take the lead. I really thought we were going to win it. That's one of the reasons why it's so hard to take. We were right there."

As he spoke during a postgame news conference, Thomas and Pondexter sat next to him, their heads bowed, fighting tears. Later, coach Lorenzo Romar said, "I'm going to go out on a limb and say we'll never get another player like Jon Brockman."

"It's funny," Brockman said. "There's only one real happy team at the end of the NCAA tournament."

Fortunately, the Huskies will have chances to win a different way. Besides his statistics, Brockman's Huskies legacy will be that he provided a bridge from the Brandon Roy days to a new and promising future. It required watching the team struggle two of his four years, but Brockman helped restore the program's swagger.

"This isn't the last time that I'll be here," Thomas vowed.

But it's the last time he'll play with Brockman. After 1,805 points and 1,283 rebounds, the big fella's eligibility is up.

No more Brockman. It's the sad postscript to a terrific season.

Jerry Brewer: 206-464-2277 or jbrewer@seattletimes.com