The Washington Huskies found success from behind the three-point line early and often Monday night in their 90-76 season-opening win over Colgate.
Four different Huskies knocked down a shot from deep in the first half that either tied the game or gave the lead back to third-year coach Danny Sprinkle's team, which helped secure a five-point lead at halftime. Three more added a shot from deep in the second half to give UW 10 made threes, marking the first time since 2010-11 and 2011-12 that the program has opened back-to-back seasons with double-digit shots from behind the arc.
It was evident that scoring from deep was going to be a crucial element to the Huskies' success against the Raiders as the Patriot League school made two in the first two minutes
of the game.
Second-year forward Nikola Dzepina got the team going first to retake the lead at 7-6 with less than three minutes gone in the opening period. Veteran sharpshooter Steele Venters gave the Huskies another one-point edge under 10 minutes left before halftime while San Francisco transfer Ryan Beasley tied the game at 28-28 and Wesley Yates III made his first to put the team ahead by one with 2:46 left in the first half.
Beasley made another three in the first 20 minutes that kept the UW deficit at one possession. Texas Tech transfer LeJuan Watts added one early in the half to push the lead to four while Yates III converted his second of the game just before the halftime buzzer to send the Huskies to the locker room ahead 43-38.
This dude is balling 💪 pic.twitter.com/MmHRinqSMv
— Washington Men's Basketball (@UW_MBB) November 3, 2026
The former four-star recruit and returning starter picked up where he left off with his third and final 3-pointer at the 15:15 mark in the second half to push the UW lead back to five after Colgate scored on consecutive possessions.
In between Yates' last shot from deep and the next made three, Sprinkle saw his team not sink its ship by mixing it up near the rim through Dzepina, a reliable shooter from behind the arc but who more often than not should lean on his 6-foot-10 frame to bully opposing teams in the paint.
"You know he loves to jack three's, and he's capable because he'll make four or five in a row," Sprinkle said of the versatile European. "But it's like, man, get inside, like you're hard to guard down there. Not only can he score it, but he's aggressive (with) offensive rebounding when he's down there. But when teams send double teams he's a great passer. We need him to get double-teamed, and we'll be able to fire that out and get wide-open threes."
Dzepina scored 11 points from close range to help UW separate midway through the second half before Tayshawn Comer knocked down the next 3-pointer for the Huskies with under nine minutes remaining which pushed the lead to a game-high 16 points at 71-55.
Watts scored his second three-pointer with just over four minutes remaining in the game to give the team its tenth make from deep on the night and in turn the second consecutive season opener with double-digit threes for the first time in 15 years.
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Washington Basketball's 3-Point Success Pivotal in Win Vs Colgate
