Washington Huskies Point Guard Duo Will be Key to Unlocking Offense

SEATTLE — The Washington Huskies men's basketball team is coming off a solid win in its season-opener against the Colgate Red Raiders on Monday at Alaska Airlines Arena.

The Huskies beat the Red Raiders 90-76 and had to overcome a solid first half from the visitors to pull out the win. Colgate had the narrow advantage before Washington went on a run to go into halftime with a five-point lead.

Nikola Dzepina led the way for UW. He scored 20 of his game-high 27 points in the second half and finished with seven rebounds, putting him three boards away from a double-double.

Dzepina was the prime offensive threat for the Huskies in the second half, but the team's run was spurred on by the combined efforts of the team's primary floor generals.

When Washington went on its run in the first half to take the lead, both fourth-year point guard Ryan Beasley and fifth-year point guard Tayshawn Comer were both on the court.

Beasley and Comer are both new to the roster, with the former transferring in from the San Francisco Dons and the latter joining UW from the Nevada Wolfpack.

The pair being on the court at the same time was a possibility floated out before the season by head coach Danny Sprinkle.

With the team having a smaller roster than previous years, there's an added focus for the team to score efficiently and quickly.

Neither point guard lighted up the scoreboard, but both managed the offense efficiently and helped create open looks from their teammates.

Beasley finished with eight points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Comer had seven points, three rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal.

"I think Tayshawn and Beasley were tremendous," Sprinkle said in a postgame news conference Monday. "That's kind of when we broke the — I wouldn't say broke the game — when we got the lead in the first half. When we went with those two playing (together). They both just know how to play basketball. They pass, they — as simple as it sounds — they can dribble, they can pass, they can shoot. And it's hard to find guys that can do all three at a high level and those two can do that."

Beasley missed the team's two exhibition games with a concussion and the team features nine newcomers compared to last season, meaning that the roster's chemistry is yet to reach its peak.

The pair of point guards and the rest of the team will have a chance to build their synergy in their next game against the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils at 7 p.m. PT on Nov. 9 at Alaska Airlines Arena.