The Washington Huskies men's basketball team took the first step in defending its Acrisure Holiday Classic crown in an 83-66 win against the Nevada Wolfpack on Thursday in Palm Desert, Calif. The Dawgs improved to 5-1 on the season. 

The Huskies were able to indulge on a Thanksgiving feast on the Wolfpack despite being shorthanded.

Washington had only eight players take the court due to several players dealing with respective ankle sprains. Freshman forward Hannes Steinbach was out, sophomore forward Bryson Tucker was out and sophomore center Lathan Sommerville only played 12 minutes and went 0-for-6 after suffering an ankle sprain in practice the previous weekend.

Half of the eight Huskies to suit up Thursday reached double-digits.

Sophomore guard Wesley Yates III led the way with 25 points on 5-for-13 shooting (11-for-13 from the free-throw line); sophomore guard Zoom Diallo had 19 a 5-for-9 mark from the floor (8-for-9 from the charity stripe); senior guard Franck Kepnang put up 15 on a perfect 6-for-6 clip (3-for-6 from the free-throw line) and senior guard Quimari Peterson had 13 points on 5-for-8 shooting, including a 3-for-4 mark from 3-point range.

Diallo had 13 of his 19 points in the first half, which helped Washington go into halftime with a 34-28 lead over Nevada. He also added six rebounds and five assists in the game.

The latest the Wolfpack had a lead in the first half was with 12 minutes left. Nevada had an 11-9 advantage, but the Huskies followed with a 10-0 run. The Wolfpack tied the game 20-20 with 5:33 left in the half. It was the last time Nevada didn't trail.

In the second half, the Wolfpack were within six of Washington with 17:17 left in the game, but weren't able to get closer than that for the rest of the way.

The Huskies were able to almost effortlessly draw contact and went to the charity stripe far more than their opponents. Washington out-attempted Nevada 36-23 at the free-throw line. The Huskies also had 30 points in the paint to the Wolfpack's 22. 

Kepnang had five rebounds and four blocks with his 15 points. Yates added four steals, four rebounds and three steals to his game-high 25.

Washington will play its second game of the Acrisure Holiday Classic against former Pac-12 rivals, Colorado, at 1:30 p.m. PT on Friday in Palm Desert, Calif.

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