SEATTLE (AP) — The flashes being shown by Andrew Andrews early in the season — hitting 3s from the perimeter and bouncing through the lane — is looking reminiscent of another Washington point guard a few years ago.
“This is the kind of stuff Isaiah (Thomas) use to do,” Washington coach Lorenzo Romar said.
Andrews hit all six 3-point attempts and scored 32 points and the Huskies used a huge first half to roll past TCU 92-67 on Tuesday night.
Andrews posted his second 30-point game of the season and third of his career before checking out with 8 minutes to go in the game as Washington used its athleticism and hot shooting to overwhelm the Horned Frogs. Washington shot 62 percent in the first half and led by as many as 42 in the second.
Andrews made 8 of 12 shots overall in the second-best scoring game of his career. The one part bothering Andrews was three missed free throws that would have matched his career high of 35 last season against Washington State.
“I’ve been shooting the ball really well all summer coming into practice,” Andrews said. “About time it finally happened in the game.”
Washington (6-2) led 57-23 at halftime thanks to a pair of big first-half runs that quickly turned it into a blowout. The Huskies used a 14-0 spurt early to build a 12-point lead then scored 26 of the final 30 points of the first half. It was the most points scored in a half by Washington this season.
Andrews had 19 points at the break including a pair of 3-pointers 29 seconds apart late in the half. Washington scored 11 points in just 71 seconds, capped by Andrews’ fourth 3-pointer of the half that gave the Huskies a 52-22 lead.
Andrews hit his sixth 3-pointer with 13 minutes left in the game to give him 30 points when TCU had only 36.
Noah Dickerson and David Crisp both added 11 points for the Huskies.
“I thought we played with tremendous energy from the outset and stayed that way for a large portion of the game,” Romar said.
TCU (4-4) dressed only 10 players with its top two players — Kenrich Williams and Chris Washburn — out with injuries. Malique Trent led the Horned Frogs with 13 points and Vladimir Brodziansky added 10.
The Horned Frogs put a scare into No. 19 SMU less than a week ago before falling 75-70 and was competitive in all three of their previous losses.
“We can sit up here and say that everything snowballed, but the reason it snowballed was because of what we did,” TCU coach Trent Johnson said. “They’re athletic, they’re young, they’re fresh, they bounced around. I just didn’t like our effort or our willingness to stay with our stuff and execute.”
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RUN OVER
TCU could not afford to fall behind early against the energetic Huskies and that’s exactly what happened as the Horned Frogs had 11 straight empty possessions — five missed shots and six turnovers — as Washington jumped to an early 12-point lead.
It was the final 6 minutes of the first half that blew the game open. Leading 31-19, the Huskies went on a 26-4 run to close the half with six different players scoring. Andrews scored nine of his 19 first-half points in the final 2:30.
TIP-INS
TCU: Johnson grew up in Seattle and graduated from Franklin High School. Johnson is now 11-7 all-time against Washington as a player, assistant or head coach. … TCU’s 26 turnovers were a season-high.
Washington: The Huskies’ 57 points in the first half were their most first-half points since scoring 58 against California on Feb. 10, 2011. … Washington does not face another power conference team until the start of Pac-12 play on Jan. 1 against UCLA. … Washington had 16 steals, its most since also having 16 vs. Seattle in 2010.
UP NEXT
TCU hosts Prairie View A&M on Friday.
Washington hosts Montana on Saturday.