SEATTLE — For the first time in program history, the Washington Huskies men's basketball team has lost two consecutive games against the Seattle University Redhawks.

The Huskies dropped a slugfest to their in-state rivals 70-66 on Dec. 13 at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. It was head coach Danny Sprinkle's second against Seattle U since taking over as head coach of the program in 2024. Before last season's loss, Washington hadn't lost to the Redhawks since Nov. 28, 1978.

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The Huskies led by as many as nine points in the second half, but Seattle U chipped away at the Huskies before ultimately securing the four-point win.

Washington went just 1-for-15 from beyond the arc in the loss and didn't make a 3-point attempt until the second half. Freshman forward Hannes Steinbach, who finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds, was responsible for the lone triple.

It was an unusually inefficient night for the Huskies offense and the loss of one of their best sharpshooters could have been a reason why.

Sophomore guard Wesley Yates III only played 10 minutes, 47 seconds against the Redhawks. He finished with four points on 2-for-6 shooting (0-for-2 from 3-point range), pulled in four rebounds and had an assist and a steal.

Yates exited the game with an injury and his status is still uncertain, according to postgame comments from Sprinkle.

"I didn't see what happened," Sprinkle said after the game. "He got hit on his hand and it kind of swelled up. So we're gonna get him x-rayed and an MRI. I don't know right now."

Losing Yates for an extended period would be an extremely tough break for Washington.

The Huskies have two non-conference games against their schedule: against San Diego on Dec. 22 and against Utah on Dec. 29.

After those two games, Washington will begin its Big Ten schedule with a gauntlet against Indiana on Jan. 4, No. 6 Purdue on Jan. 6, Ohio State on Jan. 11 and No. 2 Michigan on Jan. 14. The two games against Indiana and Purdue will be on the road and the contests against Ohio State and Michigan will be be at home.

Yates, who transferred to the program after a year with Southern California (USC), has been one of the team's go-to shooters this season.

Yates is averaging 14.1 points per game on 39.1% shooting from the floor and 33.9% from 3-point range. He's attempted the second-most 3s on the team this season (68) behind senior guard Quimari Peterson (70).

Washington will next be in action against San Diego at 7 p.m. PT on Dec. 22 at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle.

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