SEATTLE, 26 December 2004 — Bobby Jones led five players in double figures with 22 points, as the 12th-ranked Washington Huskies crushed the Houston Cougars, 110-63, in a non-conference match-up on Christmas Eve at Bank of America Arena.
“We committed 24 turnovers, but after that there’s nothing that I can complain about,” coach Lorenzo Romar said.
“I can’t think of too many more performances that we’ve had that we’ve done a better job through the entire game on both ends of the floor.”
Jamaal Williams netted 19 points and Tre Simmons and Brandon Roy both tallied 16 for the Huskies (10-1), who won their sixth straight and will open conference play in the Pac-10 with a New Year’s Eve match-up at home versus California. Nate Robinson added 11 points in the victory.
Chris Lawson posted 18 points for Houston (8-4), which will face Texas A&M on Dec. 29 before opening its league schedule against Conference USA foe and No. 18 Louisville on Jan. 5. Andre Owens scored 17 points and Ramon Dyer contributed 14 for the Cougars, who had their four-game winning streak halted.
The Huskies controlled the action from the opening tip, jumping out to a 23-9 advantage through the first 12 minutes. Jones, Robinson and Simmons were the key contributors in the surge.
Robinson’s three-pointer made it 7-0. Jones added a three-pointer, a pair of layups and several foul shots while Simmons posted six points for the 14- point lead.
A timeout by Houston attempted to slow the Washington momentum, but to no avail as UW added to its lead and eventually led by as many as 20 at 40-20 with under four minutes to go. Jones netted seven points and Williams’ three buckets created the 20-point lead for Washington.
The Huskies continued to dominate for the rest of the first half and went into the locker room with a 48-26 advantage.
It was much of the same as the second half opened, with the Huskies scoring 13 of the first 20 points to increase their lead to 61-33.
The Cougars had no answer, and never threatened again as Washington cruised the rest of the way to the easy victory.
“That was probably our best start defensively,” Jones said. “Our confidence is extra high. We had one little slip against Gonzaga, but overall we had a great preseason.”
