Pondexter’s 30 and 15 lift Washington
November 21, 2009
SEATTLE (AP)—Quincy Pondexter got his career high in points and rebounds. Hegot revenge over Adrian Oliver, his former Washington roommate who jilted himtwo years ago by transferring. And the Huskies got the win.
The only thing Pondexter didn’t get was his rent back.
Pondexter set a career best for the second consecutive game with 30 points,including 13 in a row to begin the second half, and had a career-best 15rebounds in No. 14 Washington’s 80-70 victory over Oliver and San Jose State onFriday night.
“Yeah, I felt stranded … it was heartbreaking,” Pondexter said of Oliverleaving over Christmas break in 2007, after recruiting classmates Spencer Hawesand Phil Nelson had already left the UW for the NBA and Portland State,respectively.
“He left me as a teammate. He left me as a friend. He left me with therent!”
Asked how much that was for an off-campus apartment in expensive Seattle,Washington’s only senior laughed and said, “A lot. Ask my dad.”
The season’s first Pac-10 player of the week followed his career high of 29points on Sunday against Portland State by exploiting the foul-plagued Spartans’zone defense. He made 10 of 18 field goals and 10 of 13 foul shots.
Isaiah Thomas added 16 points and the defending Pac-10-champion Huskies(4-0), backing up their highest preseason ranking since 1985, pulled away fromthe Spartans (1-1) after a ragged start.
Oliver scored 32 points, the second-most in his college career, to lead SanJose State, which beat NAIA school William Jessup in its opener.
“He got what he wanted. He’s at a school where he can score as much as hewanted,” Pondexter said. “But I’m happy. He got 32 points. I got the win.”
The Spartans lost for the 10th consecutive time against a Pac-10 team sincebeating Stanford 17 years ago.
Oliver, who played in 37 games with 13 starts over 1 1/2 seasons at Washingtonand was Pondexter’s roommate, kept San Jose State in the game by scoring 19points in the first 25 minutes.
“It was fun coming back here and seeing a lot of old faces, saying hello,”Oliver said. “It was nice. It would have been nicer if we had gotten the win.
“Against the No. 14 team in the country? We fought them hard.”
Pondexter and Oliver didn’t speak from the weeks before Oliver bolted untilSeptember when Oliver called him—because he heard a rumor Pondexter had gottenmarried, of all things. Pondexter was driving at the time and didn’t look downat his phone to see the number calling.
“Man, if I would have known it was you, I probably wouldn’t have answeredthe phone,” Pondexter told his former friend.
Pondexter contemplated leaving the UW as a sophomore on that same Christmasbreak when Oliver transferred.
Washington’s sure glad he stayed.
He took advantage of the back line of San Jose State’s zone defense fearingfourth fouls to score Washington’s first 13 points of the second half. On fiveconsecutive plays, Pondexter soared past flat-footed defenders for baskets. Thethird was a thunderous, right-handed dunk from the baseline over meeklydefending C.J. Webster. Webster got a face full of Pondexter yelling and then anear full from Spartans coach George Nessman for not defending more aggressively.
Washington got its largest lead, 45-37.
Two 3-pointers by Elston Turner, two free throws by the cold-shooting Thomas(4 for 13 from the field), and another soaring dunk from Pondexter off analley-oop feed from freshman Abdul Gaddy put the Huskies up 66-50 with 8 minutesleft.
Upset averted.
Fortunately for Washington, 15 of the 25 fouls in the plodding first halfwere against San Jose State, which hasn’t beaten a ranked team since 1996. TheSpartans, picked by coaches to finish eighth in the WAC, had four players withthree fouls each in the half.
Pondexter was perfect on all six of his free throws in the period, part of12-for-17 shooting at the line for the Huskies. They led 37-31 at the breakdespite shooting just 35 percent from the field.
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