Washington's 102-75 victory against Long Beach State went as scripted. Sort of. Lorenzo Romar hinted about a lineup change, but it didn't become apparent sophomore Aziz N'Diaye would receive his first career start until minutes before the game.
Romar said he made the switch to reward the 7-foot center who played well last week at the Maui Invitational. Romar didn't talk about sending a message to senior forward Matthew Bryan-Amaning (left), who was benched for the first time since the Feb. 11 California game last season. He started 17 straight games before tonight.
Romar told Bryan-Amaning last Saturday he was making a change and they spent a lot of time together watching video of the UW forward. Bryan-Amaning led the team in scoring and rebounding, but he had spotty performances last week against Virginia and Kentucky.
When asked about the video sessions with Romar, Bryan-Amaning said: "You don't see it when you're in the game. You think you're putting as much effort as you can. He just knows the level that I had been playing at at the end of last year then the first couple of games this year. Instead of being lackadaisical just bringing it the whole time I'm on the floor."
Bryan-Amaning received assurances from Romar the benching may be temporary.
"He told me it's not permanent," Bryan-Amaning said. "It's nothing for the rest of the season. If I show what I'm supposed to show, then I'll back in the starting five."
Bryan-Amaning could be better suited with the reserves. We'll see. But he gives UW offensive firepower coming off the bench along with three-point specialist C.J. Wilcox, who was the big star tonight.
If Romar was trying to send a message, then Bryan-Amaning got the point. He connected on all seven of his shots and finished with 14 points and five rebounds against an undersized Long Beach State squad.
The naysayers will say Bryan-Amaning always dominates smaller teams and he should punish opponents that play behind him with just one defender. Still, he was aggressive on both ends of the court and finished with a season-high four blocks. He said all the right things during the post-game press conference and gave no signs as if the benching will negatively affect his confidence.
The 23rd-ranked Huskies (4-2) need him because he's their best low-post scoring option and the 49ers couldn't stop him.
It wasn't just Bryan-Amaning, nearly everyone on Washington's team played well offensively. Three players established or tied a career-high in scoring and UW shot 61.2 percent from the field, which is a season high. Washington also had 24 assists and blocked seven shots, which tied for a season high.
Photo credit: AP Photo - Elaine Thompson
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