Men's Hoops Notebook: Williams in a shooting mood

Washington forward Jamaal Williams had barely left the arena Thursday night when he got a call from coach Lorenzo Romar.

"He just said, 'I wanted to remind you that we have a game against Oregon coming up,' " Williams recalled. " 'Don't remember the Oregon State game. We've got a game against Oregon.' That's the kind of attitude we have. Just turn the page and move forward."

Williams had the most to forget against the Beavers, when UW won despite shooting 33 percent, its worst percentage in more than two years. Williams tied a season low with four points, making 2 of 12 shots, and spent most of the second half on the bench.

But Williams rarely loses his confidence for long, and he made the first shot attempt of the game for UW on Saturday in a 78-59 win over Oregon.

Williams had a game-high 20 points, making 10 of 14 shots.

"I don't know who that guy was who was out there playing the other night," Williams said. "That was somebody else. Tonight, the real Jamaal was here. It just felt good when it left my hand. I felt like I was going to make every single shot. When you get into those rhythms when the basket looks that big, you've got to take those shots."

Said Romar: "He had a good game against them last year here [14 points in 15 minutes]. He got his first couple of shots to drop, and his confidence was at a high level."

For the defense

UW opened the game with 6-foot-6 guard Brandon Roy defending Oregon point guard Aaron Brooks, who is 6-0. Bobby Jones, who is 6-7, also spent time guarding Brooks as the Huskies wanted to put taller defenders on Brooks to make it hard for him to penetrate.

"Brandon Roy is our best on-ball defender," Romar said. "Brooks is such a key to their team. We put our best defender on him around the perimeter to keep him in front."

Roy had primary defensive duties on UCLA point guard Jordan Farmar last week.

Said Brooks, who scored just four points: "Brandon's a great defender, and they did a good job of containing me."

NOTES

• Phil Nelson, a swingman from McNary, Ore., who has signed to play for Washington next season, watched the game from behind the bench, sitting with Seattle Prep center Spencer Hawes, who has also signed with the Huskies. Nelson also attended the Gonzaga game. "I like the way they play and get up and down the court," Nelson said.

• Brooks' take: "They just outhustled us in those two big runs. That was the tale of the game." Added teammate Jordan Kent: "We just did not match their aggressiveness."