Who will bring home the Pac-10 crown?
Pick your poison.
Do you focus the attention on Patrick Christopher and double-team him? Send an extra man in the direction of Theo Robertson in an attempt to slow him down? Cheat towards the middle, and hopefully, keep Jerome Randle out of the lane, a place where he makes his living?
One has to think that each scenario has been considered by Lorenzo Romar and the rest of his Washington coaching staff as the group prepared to face Cal in today’s Pac-10 Tournament championship game at Staples Center. Bottom line: The Huskies need to figure out a way to contain the high-scoring trio if they hope to take home the title.
No. 1 California vs. No. 3 Washington
*** We’re about 10 minutes away from the opening tip. Isaiah Thomas just led Washington out of the tunnel onto the floor. The Huskies are hyped.
*** Robertson buries back-to-back three-pointers, that was expected. No one thought Jamal Boykin would make a big impact though. Don’t get me wrong, he’s capable. More than capable, in fact. His six points are a clear indication of that. The Golden Bears take a 12-10 lead with 15:03 left.
*** Thomas is active early. He draws a foul on Randle and makes a pair of free-throws. A floater in the lane follows. Then, he gets into the lane, sinks a runner, is fouled in the act and converts the three-point play to give Washington a 15-14 advantage at 13:54.
*** Pondexter gets involved, using a nice spin move to get to the rack. Once there, he’s fouled by Randle. The sequence is important for a couple reasons. One: Randle picks up his second foul and heads to the bench. Second: Pondexter converts two free-throws. Washington trails 29-28 at 7:24.
*** Boykin hits a baseline jumper and Christopher connects on a couple of free-throws. Cal is down though, 34-33, with 3:47 remaining on the clock.
*** The Huskies have no answer for Robertson, who has 16 points thus far. They do, however, have the lead, 39-37, at intermission.
*** Matthew Bryan-Amaning, who played well in the semifinals, finds his groove. He scores inside. And 1. Next trip down the floor, he gets loose for a dunk. Cal extends its advantage to seven points at 18:05.
*** Robertson answers. Who else would it be right? He converts back-to-back three-point plays, the conventional way, to give the Golden Bears a 47-46 lead at 15:38.
*** Thomas takes over. He scores five consecutive points as the Huskies regain a six-point advantage with 11:47 left. Cal coach Mike Montgomery calls timeout.
*** The Huskies have managed to keep Randle and Christopher in check. Robertson has settled down. But what about Boykin, they can’t stop this cat. His bucket and free-throw cuts the deficit to 61-57 at 10:17.
*** Behind Boykin’s 20 points so far, Cal rallies, managing to take a three-point lead. The advantage is short-lived though, due in large part to Venoy Overton, who buries a three. We’re tied, 66-66, with 4:44 left.
*** Two of the unlikeliest candidates, Tyrese Bresheres and Justin Holiday, combine for four points and the Huskies are up, 75-71. There’s 2:02 left on the clock.
*** Huge three from Randle. Golden Bears down three points, less than 51 seconds remaining in this one here at Staples Center.
*** Overton seals the 79-75 victory for the Huskies with a pair of free-throws.
*** Quotes to follow shortly, right after the trophy presentation.
Read the SLAMonline Discussion Rules before posting.