Huskies hold off pesky Eagles in Maui tune-up

SEATTLE (AP) - Washington can now think about Maui without getting in trouble for looking ahead.

For one half Tuesday night, it looked like the 17th-ranked Huskies were already island bound.

Justin Holiday scored eight of his career-high 18 points during Washington's 20-5 run to open the second half, center Matthew Bryan-Amaning posted his second double-double in as many games, and the Huskies overcame a sluggish first half to rout Eastern Washington 98-72.

"I don't think so," Holiday said. "I haven't been thinking about Hawaii yet. I go game by game. Of course we're going to have slow starts, I don't know the reasons for it."

Ask coach Lorenzo Romar and he thinks his squad simply got "out-scrapped" in the first half by an Eastern Washington team that proved to be more of a headache than the Huskies envisioned in their last warmup before the Maui Invitational.

Any worries, though, quickly vanished in the opening moments of the second half.

The Huskies' (2-0) passive first-half defense suddenly became aggressive and suffocating. Holiday scored on quick run outs and added a 3-pointer. Abdul Gaddy, who made just three 3-pointers during his difficult freshman season, knocked down three on Tuesday night, two during the spurt to start the second half that made it 62-39. The lead only grew, reaching 29 late in the second half.

"They came out and showed us they were confident," Washington guard Venoy Overton said. "They showed us they were better than the last team we played."

Washington might be excused for the sluggish first half with what awaits on the horizon. The Huskies leave Saturday for Maui and the Eagles (0-2) were meant to be an easy warmup before the challenge that awaits on the islands, beginning with Virginia.

For at least one half, EWU was more of a thorn than an easy walkthrough.

The Eagles, who lost to Division II Seattle Pacific and Montana State-Billings in their exhibition games, didn't blink against the preseason favorites in the Pac-10.

E. WASHINGTON (0-2)

Griffin 2-8 2-4 6, Johnson 5-8 3-4 13, Ederaine 5-8 0-5 10, Colimon 2-5 2-2 7, Forbes 2-11 6-6 10, Brown 0-1 1-2 1, McRae 2-4 3-4 7, Allen 2-4 0-0 4, Winford 6-8 0-0 14. Totals 26-57 17-27 72.

WASHINGTON (2-0)

Bryan-Amaning 5-8 4-8 14, Holiday 8-13 0-0 18, Gant 2-7 0-0 4, Gaddy 5-6 0-0 13, Thomas 2-9 4-4 9, Overton 4-7 0-1 9, N'Diaye 2-2 1-2 5, Hosley 0-0 0-0 0, Suggs 3-8 0-0 9, Wilcox 2-7 2-2 8, Ross 4-9 0-0 9, Sherrer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 37-76 11-17 98.

Halftime_Washington 42-34. 3-Point Goals_E. Washington 3-12 (Winford 2-3, Colimon 1-3, Johnson 0-1, Brown 0-1, Forbes 0-4), Washington 13-33 (Gaddy 3-4, Suggs 3-6, Holiday 2-5, Wilcox 2-7, Overton 1-2, Thomas 1-4, Ross 1-5). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_E. Washington 40 (Griffin 8), Washington 35 (Bryan-Amaning 10). Assists_E. Washington 8 (Colimon 3), Washington 28 (Overton 8). Total Fouls_E. Washington 17, Washington 20. Technical_Thomas. A_8,897.