Washington men drop three after three, hitting 15, to beat UCLA

SEATTLE – First Sahvir Wheeler, then Koren Johnson.

All night, the Washington men’s basketball team ran pick-n-roll plays for their explosive playmakers who found lanes to the rim for acrobatic layups or connected with open shooters on the perimeter.

The UCLA Bruins were reluctant to give Wheeler and Johnson easy access to the basket and in essence dared the Huskies, who ranked ninth in the Pac-12 in 3-point-shooting percentage, to beat them from the outside.

It was a costly gambit for the visiting team, which paid dividends for the Huskies who connected on a season-high 15 3-pointers – two shy of their all-time best – during a 94-77 victory Thursday in front of 7,893 at Alaska Airlines Arena.

Keion Brooks Jr. and Moses Wood were the beneficiaries of the Bruins’ botched defensive scheme.

Brooks, the Pac-12’s leading scorer, hit a career-high six 3-pointers for 30 points, and Wood had 14 points and four 3-pointers.

Braxton Meah added 19 points for Washington (16-13, 8-10 in Pac-12), which snapped a nine-game losing streak to UCLA (14-14, 9-8) in their final game as Pac-12 foes.

Meanwhile, Wheeler performed like a maestro while dishing 11 assists and Johnson chipped in five assists before fouling out.

Barring a matchup in the Pac-12 tournament, the next time UW plays the Bruins it will be as members in the Big Ten.

The game began with five fouls in the first 20 seconds, including a technical on Bruins coach Mick Cronin.

Washington took control early, but never led by more than six points in the first 10 minutes. UCLA surged ahead 25-24 when the Huskies responded with a 16-4 run to go up 40-29 after back-to-back triples from Wood.

Meah capped the first-half scoring for UW with a couple of dunks for a 44-35 lead at the break.

The Huskies pushed their advantage to 66-46 midway in the second half and never let the Bruins get closer than 12 points the rest of the way.

In the final seconds, Wheeler (11 points) tossed in a contested and off-balance three-pointer from long range to beat the shot clock and bring the fans to their feet. It was his third three-pointer.

Lazar Stefanovic had 22 points before fouling out, Dylan Andrews 21 and Adem Bona 16 for the Bruins.

Washington hosts USC at 1 p.m. Saturday in its regular-season home finale.