Tsohonis' Career Night Leads UW to Victory over Colorado
SEATTLE – It took a career game from sophomore guard Marcus Tsohonis – one of the more efficient shooting nights Washington has had from a single player this season – to erase another halftime deficit and end the teams’ eight-game losing streak.
UW leaned on sophomore guard Marcus Tsohonis, who scored 27 points on 9 of 13 shooting (.692) against Colorado to earn the 84-80 victory Wednesday night. Erik Stevenson added a crucial 17 points of his own to follow Tsohonis as the second-highest scorer for the Huskies.
Tsohonis emerged late in the first half and scored the first of four 3-pointers to cut the deficit to seven with just under three minutes until intermission. He added a pair of free throws to go with another jumper to give him a team-high nine points at half.
“We were just way more connected, together,” the sophomore guard said after the win, noting as a team the group came together and leaned on each other down the stretch.
It’s the third-most points Tsohonis has scored on the 2020-21 season, with the other two coming against Stanford (24 points on Jan. 7 at Stanford) and this same Colorado team on December 20.
The victory gives Mike Hopkins his first in Conference this season after dropping a close game against UCLA last Sunday in Los Angeles. After the game Tsohonis expressed his belief that the team can use this positive result as a momentum-builder.
Tsohonis’s four 3-pointers are the most he’s made in his career in a single game. To go along with his career-high 27 points, Wednesday night marked the first time Tsohonis has played 20-plus minutes in consecutive Pac-12 Conference games since February 20-22 of last season.
In those two games, as a freshman, he scored 17 combined points. Against UCLA and Colorado the sophomore has combined for 36 points and shot 13 for 19 from the field.
“Every team just needs a spark and hopefully that lit a fuse for us,” Hopkins said after the game.
On Tsohonis, the UW head coach noted “he’s been up and down with me throughout the year” but that he has been committed to doing anything he can to help the team in any way he can.”
Hopkins made it clear that tonight and the last two games have solidified the rotation, which should help the team chemistry improve on the court and lead to more victories for UW.
One change that has helped the Huskies on the defensive end has been a wrinkle that Hopkins implemented against the Bruins. Against the Buffaloes, who were held to just 1 of 18 from 3-point range, those changes appear to have made a difference and resulted in the victory.
The last time UW held a Pac-12 opponent to just one made 3-point attempt came on Jan. 19, 2019 at home against California. The Golden Bears shot 1 for 15 from deep against the Huskies that night, who went on win 71-52.
UW (2-11, 1-7 ) will host Utah on Sunday at 1 p.m.