SEATTLE — The Washington Huskies men's basketball team entered a game against the Southern Utah Thunderbirds on Saturday at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle healthier than it had been in weeks.

The Huskies, with sophomore forward Bryson Tucker, put together their most dominant win of the season and beat the Thunderbirds 105-69.

Washington had six players score in double-figures Saturday. Thirteen Huskies players registered time on the court against Southern Utah and 12 of them scored.

Southern Utah was competitive for the first four-and-a-half minutes Saturday. with 15:33 left in the first half, the Thunderbirds led 9-8.

Sophomore Washington guard Wesley Yates III hit a 3-pointer to give his team a two-point lead with 15:24 left in the half.

The Huskies had the lead for the final 35 minutes, 24 seconds of regulation.

Yates had 14 points, which co-lead Washington. He put up that mark on 4-for-10 shooting from the floor (4-for-9 from 3-point range) and went 2-for-2 from the free-throw line.

After Yates' 3-pointer, Washington outscored Southern Utah 42-25 to go into halftime with a 53-33 lead. The Huskies' 53 points were the most the program has scored in the first half since 2016.

Washington's last six points before halftime came courtesy of freshman guard J.J. Mandaquit.

Mandaquit hit a 3-pointer with 1:11 left in the first half. Senior guard Quimari Peterson got a steal on the subsequent inbound and kicked it back out to Mandaquit, who hit another triple.

Mandaquit finished the game with 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting (3-for-4 from beyond the arc) and dished five assists.

"(I'm) learning a lot," Mandaquit said in a postgame interview. "I've really just got thrown into the fire but I wouldn't want it any other way. I think our veteran guys and our coaches have really helped me to just stay ready. As a freshman, you're gonna learn a lot. Everything is just learning experiences, things I haven't gone through before. I've learned to just be mentally tough. The game's gonna test you, it's gonna test your mental."

Tucker, who missed the team's last six games with an ankle sprain, scored eight of his 12 points in the first half. He reached that mark on 4-for-5 shooting from the floor and went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. He also had four rebounds and didn't miss a shot attempt until the second half.

"It felt amazing," Tucker said after the game. "Sitting over there, all those games, it was rough. I had to go through rehab and stuff but it was a good welcome back."

The Huskies continued to put their foot on the pedal in the second half. They outscored the Huskies 52-36 in the final 20 minutes.

Freshman forward Hannes Steinbach scored eight of his 14 points in the second half, which co-led the team with Yates. Steinbach also added six rebounds and three assists.

With Washington having the game well in-hand, head coach Danny Sprinkle had the opportunity to give time to players who otherwise wouldn't see the court.

Freshman forward Nikola Dzepina, who arrived in Seattle earlier this week from Serbia, registered his first collegiate minutes. Dzepina scored five points on 2-for-3 shooting, which included a 3-pointer. Freshman guard Courtland Muldrew scored a bucket, his first of his college career, in the second half.

The Dawgs had just two turnovers the entire game — an emphasis for the team this week in practice.

"We're gonna run into some really good defensive teams," Sprinkle said in a postgame interview. "We're not going to be able to just get a shot off one or two passes or drive right away. They're gonna make it hard on you. There's gonna be some friction at the rim and that's where we have to continue to get better with our spacing. Once we run a set, now we got to play basketball."

Washington will next be in action at 8:30 p.m. PT on Dec. 19 against in-city rivals, Seattle University, at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.

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