Mike Hopkins on his technical vs. Arizona State: 'There was some things I've never seen'

Washington head coach Mike Hopkins is probably just happy to have gotten away with an overtime win on Thursday night against Arizona State. And he wasn’t shy is sharing some annoyance with the officiating during the contest.

Hopkins was even assessed a technical following a sequence where an Arizona State defender apparently hung on the rim and swatted a shot away. Hopkins didn’t have a clear answer as to what he specifically did to draw the officials ire.

“There was some things I’ve never seen, today,” Hopkins said. “But you just gotta fight through it. Everybody’s human, everybody makes mistakes. It’s not perfect. I think he thought I showed him up. He came over and said ‘I had to because you stepped on the floor.’ I don’t know, sometimes I don’t even know what I’m — I run into referees. You’re just emotional those plays.”

The Huskies did fight through, winning 84-82 in overtime after letting a double-digit lead slip away in the second half. And with the win, Washington snapped a four-game skid, a big step forward for Hopkins’ squad.

Hopkins shares what the win means for Washington

Washington avoided a complete collapse in Tempe on Thursday to win by two in overtime. Ahead of a matchup with a top-five team that’s two hours southeast from where they were last night, Hopkins knows it was an important one to secure.

Hopkins spoke about the win with the media following the 84-82 outcome for the Huskies over Arizona State. He said a victory is a victory but that it was a bit better just because they had to overcome a near disaster of a second half to earn it.

“I think it’s just a win,” Hopkins said. “I think, you know, anytime you can find a way to win through adversity or what not, it’s always a bonus.”

Washington did essentially everything right in the first half versus the Sun Devils. They took a 21-point lead into the break after the home team shot just 28.6% from the field,

However, after opening it up to their largest lead of 25 to start the second half, everything essentially went wrong over the next 18 minutes. Arizona State stormed back by almost doubling them with a 51-26 run. That turned a 49-24 deficit for them into a 75-75 tie to send it to overtime.

Still, in the extra period, Washington managed to pull away in the final seconds. A pair of free throws from Braxton Meah are what gave them their final margin. The Sun Devils missed a inbounded tip-in with 2.4 left and, with that, the Huskies escaped a near catastrophe.