Bittersweet ending for Huskies

All great things must come to an end. Does that cliche comfort you? Like it or not, the end of an era has come.

With the heart-wrenching loss to the East Coast Huskies on Friday, the careers of the remaining players coach Lorenzo Romar first brought to campus ended. To say that the loss was easy to stomach would be an outright lie, as many Husky fans must have felt that the March Madness Grinch had stolen their Final Four.

Despite getting saddled with 33 fouls and losing five players via the foul out, Washington controlled the game for 39 minutes. They dominated in almost every facet of the game, including shooting, hustle, defense, composure and intensity. They caused 26 turnovers and had four players reach double figures.

At the end of the night, while the loss was still an open wound, it had to be said that this group of players had nothing to be ashamed of.

"We've talked from day one," said Romar, "when you walk off the floor, you need to be able to answer: Did I do everything in my power to do the best job I can do? Whether you won the game or lost the game is irrelevant at that point."

That may sound hollow to some people who wanted the UW to push on to its first Final Four in more than half a century, but for the seniors, those words are the only solace left.

For some of them, Friday's game was the last time they will put on a jersey of any kind. Probably only one of the five really knows what the future holds, as Brandon Roy is almost a lock to be a lottery pick in this year's NBA draft.

For that reason, it was up to them to leave everything out there on the court, and they did. Bobby Jones -- well known as Romar's first recruit -- went on lockdown defensively, and had he not fouled out, may have saved the game from going into overtime had he been the one defending Rashad Anderson's desperation heave.

Jamaal Williams scored a career high 27, and was the only senior with playing time that didn't foul out.

Roy, the star for the Huskies all season, did not disappoint with his performance Friday night.

These guys played their hearts out, because, quite honestly, there would be no tomorrow. It is the end of the road for the seniors. While the Husky future looks bright with returning talent and a nationally-acclaimed recruiting class on the way, the ending of the careers of Roy, Jones, Williams and Mike Jensen closes the book on the magical 2003-04 season that kicked off this three-year ride.

"My only regret is that these (five) seniors were not able to advance to experience how awesome it is to participate in a Final Four," said Romar. "When guys have character like this and they give all they have on a consistent basis, you want to see the best for them and you want to see them be rewarded for trying to do the right thing. But I just wish they could have experienced it because they deserved it."

For the players, it was not a total loss though, as the game against UConn proved that this Washington program could play with and beat anyone in the country.

Perhaps Roy put it best when he said, "I just think we made a lot of people believers that we have some really good players up there in the Northwest."

Reach Daily reporter Justin Chartrey at [url='mailto:justinchartrey@thedaily.washington.edu']justinchartrey@thedaily.washington.edu[/url]