UW Hold Off Santa Clara to Win 2024 Acrisure Invitational Championship

Fresh off an 47-point second half in their Acrisure Invitational semifinal game on Thursday, the Washington men's basketball team came out firing with 42 points in the first half against Santa Clara to earn a 76-69 victory Friday afternoon in Palm Springs, California. 

The Huskies (6-1) failed to outshoot and at one point out-rebound the Broncos (3-5) in the championship game, but they did capitalize on 14 Santa Clara turnovers and out scored their opponents 22-7 in points off turnovers to secure the sixth win of the season under first-year coach Danny Sprinkle. 

Three UW players finished in double figures led by senior forward Great Osobor, who scored 19 points on 8-of-17 shooting, and added 8 rebounds and 5 assists in 33 minutes of action. 

Senior guard DJ Davis added 13 points off the bench while freshman guard Zoom Diallo scored 15 points on 5-of-9 from the floor in his third straight start. 

Davis, who scored just 6 points against Colorado State in Thursday's semifinal, knocked down three of the Huskies' five 3-pointers against Santa Clara, the last of which put UW ahead 66-58 with 5:27 remaining in the game. 

The Broncos, similar to the Rams, continued to push the Huskies in the closing minutes, cutting the deficit to just three, 72-69, with 11 seconds left after Sprinkle's squad stretched the lead to as much as 13 with 2:41 left after sophomore guard Tyler Harris put in a 3-pointer of his own. 

Nevertheless UW held on in the final seconds and Osobor threw down a dunk with 1 second remaining to secure the 7-point victory on the road. 

The Huskies open Big Ten Conference play on Tuesday in Westwood against the UCLA Bruins (6-1) before returning home next Saturday to host the USC Trojans at Alaska Airlines Arena.