Washington Basketball Bounces Back With Dominant Win Over San Diego
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Washington forward Hannes Steinbach led the Huskies with 21 points and 14 rebounds against the San Diego Toreros on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025 at Hec Edmundson Pavilion in Seattle, Washington: Credit: Washington Athletics [/caption]
SEATTLE, Wash. — Though it wasn’t quite the Battle for Seattle, the Washington men’s basketball team got back in the saddle with an 86-56 win over the San Diego Toreros.
It helps when the ball finds its way through the net — something that was a rarity from long range for UW in Friday’s 70-66 loss to Seattle U at Climate Pledge Arena. Back in the friendly confines of Hec Edmundson Pavilion, Washington made five shots from behind the 3-point line against the Toreros, four days after going 1-for-15.
It’s a far cry from hosting a 3-point shooting clinic, but the Huskies (8-4 overall) showed signs of being able to put the ball in the basket, shooting 44.8% from the field. The 30-point blowout proved cathartic after losing for the second year in a row to their crosstown rival.
“That loss is still sore to us,” said sophomore guard Zoom Diallo, who contributed 17 points and four assists. “You know how much it meant to us coming out and making a statement.”
Leading 16-14 with 12:42 remaining in the first half, UW put the Toreros away with an 18-point run during a span of 8 minutes. Six Huskies contributed to that scoring outburst, which was also keyed by defense. Washington led 46-26 at the half and was never threatened once the Huskies pulled away.
Hannes Steinbach’s Dominance
The freshman forward recorded his seventh double-double of the season, leading the Huskies with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Steinbach, who missed three games earlier in the season with an ankle injury, is averaging 17.9 points and 12.1 rebounds per game.
Diallo scored the game’s first four points, and Steinbach took over from there with a 3-point play and a 3-point bucket for an early 10-3 Washington lead. USD was able to tie it up at 10-10, but UW pulled away from there, never trailing against the Steve Lavin-coached Toreros (5-7). The Huskies outrebounded SDU 46-28.
“He has a motor,” UW coach Danny Sprinkle said. “He doesn’t just wait for the rebound, he goes every time, makes the effort. … He just has a knack to know where the ball’s going and really uses his body as leverage. And he’s got great hands.”
Though Steinbach leads Washington in points and rebounds, Sprinkle believes his 6-11 forward from Germany is capable of even more.
“I’m proud of the 21, but he’s got to get 28-29,” Sprinkle said. “He has to continue to be aggressive.”
Nikola Dzepina Looks the Part
The 6-10 big man from Serbia, who practiced with the Huskies for the first time nine days ago, showed signs of being ready to play a significant role for UW this season.
Dzepina got his feet wet quickly after arriving in the U.S., playing five minutes toward the end of the Dec. 13 blowout of Southern Utah after participating in only one walkthrough prior to the game.
Playing in his second game — and first in a meaningful role — Dzepina contributed seven points and eight rebounds in 20 minutes. With UW missing forward Lathan Sommerville and starting guard Wesley Yates III, Dzepina was pressed into duty and proved he belongs.
Dzepina played high-level basketball in Europe, showing the ability to shoot from long range and strong court vision.
Though he shot just 2-for-7, Dzepina was active, setting screens and making several passes — including a three-quarter court pass that Diallo finished on the other end. He’s making the adjustment to college basketball during his first few days on U.S. soil.
“Pretty much similar,” Dzepina said of college basketball. “But the intensity, physicality is harder.”
Diallo is confident that Dzepina will be able to help the Huskies’ shooting woes.
“He most definitely can shoot it from everywhere,” said Diallo, who crossed the career 500-point mark on Monday. “We noticed that when he went to the scout team and lit the starting five up pretty early. He’s one of those guys that can stretch the floor out. And he’s kind of similar to Hannes with IQ. He just comes to the game with a high level IQ, kind of thinks one step ahead.”
JJ Mandaquit Decisive
The freshman point guard started the first few games, but struggled at times against college defenders. Coming off a strong showing at the FIBA U-19 World Cup, Sprinkle put Mandaquit in a position to serve as his floor general from the beginning. Mandquit averaged 29 minutes over the first seven games, but saw his time on the court drop under 10 minutes in UW’s first two conference games.
During that time, UW relied on Diallo to run the point the majority of the time.
Mandaquit appeared to be much more decisive against San Diego. He played 24 minutes, contributing nine points and four assists. He appeared less hesitant than earlier in the season. He drove to the basket with authority and made several crisp passes to set up teammates.
Injuries Bug Continues to Bite
Yates missed the game with a hand injury suffered against Seattle U, and Sommerville hurt his knee during practice on Saturday. Sprinkle said he wasn’t sure when either would return as the team awaits test results.
While the team struggles to hit 3-point shots, they await the return of sharp-shooting forward Jacob Ognacevic, who is expected to return in January. Desmond Claude missed several weeks of practice and the team’s first four games. The senior guard added 13 points against San Diego after scoring a season-high 24 against Seattle U on Friday. Opening-game starter Bryson Tucker missed six games, Steinbach missed three, and others have missed practices with an assortment of ailments.
The injuries have affected the team’s ability to run full practices, even when pressing coaches Abdul Gaddy and Quincy Pondexter into duty. For a team that returned only two players (Diallo and forward Franck Kepnang) from last year’s team, some health luck and recovery would be beneficial as the team has a week to recuperate prior to the Dec. 29 game against Utah.
While Sprinkle has acknowledged the injury issues, he doesn’t believe it’s an excuse.
“Nobody cares,” Sprinkle said flatly.
“We have plenty of guys that we recruited, and I believe in all of them,” he added. “Now it’s time for the other guys to step up, you know, until [the injured players] come back, and hopefully they do get back. But until then, it’s more minutes for Jasir [Rencher]. It’s more minutes for Nikola, Bryson. Now those guys that have been wanting to play more — it’s about the action now. It’s not just saying ‘I want to play more.’ You got to put it on the floor and produce.”
