SEATTLE — The Washington Huskies men's basketball team entered Saturday's game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Alaska Airlines Arena on a three-game skid and in desperate need for a win.

The Huskies not only pulled out a win. For the first time in weeks, they looked dominant in a 69-57 victory against the Golden Gophers. It was a triumph that leaned more in favor of UW than the final score would indicate.

Washington was up 69-49 with just under two minutes remaining in the game. With the result essentially secure, the Huskies, down to nine scholarship players Saturday, sent in freshman reserves — forward Nikola Dzepina and guard Brandon Roy Jr. — to chew up the remaining garbage time.

The Dawgs improved to 13-13 overall and 5-10 in the Big Ten against Minnesota.

"Proud of our guys after a short turnaround," Huskies head coach Danny Sprinkle said in a postgame interview. "After a tough loss the other night, where we just couldn't muster up the energy ... I thought our guys did a tremendous job bouncing back and coming back to compete. (Came) back with some energy tonight."

Washington's win came due to a 14-0 run in the final four minutes of the first half that sent UW into the break with a 39-26 lead. That run was sparked by an unlikely hero.

Freshman guard Courtland Muldrew kicked off the run with a jumper that put the Huskies up by one. Muldrew received more playing time Saturday due to a thumb injury suffered by sophomore forward Bryson Tucker that prevented the latter from playing.

In what was his best display with Washington, Muldrew played 21 minutes, 19 seconds. He finished with a solid all-around showing of six points, five rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal. He had two more points later in the first-half run on a fastbreak layup.

Muldrew has seen his playing time go through ebbs and flows this year due to various injuries to the team. He was originally expected to redshirt this season but that possibility went away due to the number of games he played before Big Ten competition began in kind.

"It's hard. Especially as a freshman," UW guard Zoom Diallo said after the game. "Especially knowing that you feel like you can impact the game and you can play. One thing I've been trying to tell him is, you just got to be ready. You never know. I told him early on this season, how many injuries we have, you never know."

Before the Huskies' run to end the first half, they continued to go back-and-forth with the Golden Gophers, with both sides failing to go up by more than two possessions.

Minnesota was unable to get back within single-digits of Washington after the latter's 14-0 run.

Diallo and freshman forward Hannes Steinbach both got it done on the offensive end to make sure the Huskies were able to get over the finish line with a win.

Steinbach finished with a game-high 26 points on 12-for-17 shooting and added nine rebounds, two assists, three steals and two blocks.

Diallo ended the game with 17 points on an almost-perfect 7-for-8 clip. He pulled in three rebounds and dished four assists.

Sophomore guard Wesley Yates III was a pest for the Golden Gophers on the defensive end. He finished the game with four steals.

Washington will have a much-needed week-long break and will return to action against the Maryland Terrapins at noon PT on Feb. 21 at the Xfinity Center in College Park, Md.

"The players need to rest," Sprinkle said. "I told them, I don't want to see them (Sunday) or Monday. Stay out of the gym. ... They need to mentally get away and get refreshed."

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