HONOLULU – The coaches and players on Washington’s bench made sure the Huskies on the floor knew where Kyle Mallers and Ishael El-Amin were at all times, considering Ball State’s gunners entered Sunday’s game ranked 15th and 16th nationally in three-point shooting, respectively.
“In the corner!” assistant Will Conroy shouted.
“Don’t leave him!” yelled a UW reserve from the sidelines.
The Huskies scrapped their 2-3 zone and plastered themselves to the Cardinals using a man-to-man defense that short-circuited one of the top perimeter offenses.
And at the other end, Washington stole a page from Ball State and drained a season-high 11 three-pointers for an 85-64 victory in the first round of the Diamond Head Classic at Stan Sherriff Center.