Washington conquers ASU, 59-51 in Pac-10 play
LOS ANGELES - Jon Brockman had 16 points and 10 rebounds, Spencer Hawes and Justin Dentmon added 13 points each, and Washington rallied for a 59-51 victory over Arizona State on Thursday night in the first round of the Pac-10 tournament.
Seventh-seeded Washington (19-12) will meet second-seeded Washington State (24-6) to complete the quarterfinal round tonight after third-seeded Southern California (21-10) plays sixth-seeded Stanford (18-11).
Eighth-seeded California (15-16) beat Oregon State 70-51 earlier Wednesday night, and will face No. 1 seed UCLA (26-4) in the second game of the day. Fourth-seeded Oregon (23-7) plays fifth-seeded Arizona (20-9) in the opener at Staples Center.
Washington beat ASU for the 10th straight time, and the victory was the Huskies’ third straight following a four-game losing streak that probably eliminated them from NCAA tournament consideration unless they win the Pac-10 tournament.
That would mean winning four games in four days on a neutral floor, something no team has done in the five years all 10 schools have been included in the tournament.
Washington went 17-2 at home and 1-10 on the road during the regular season.
Jerren Shipp scored 13 points and Jeff Pendergraph had nine points and seven rebounds for the Sun Devils.
Tenth-seeded ASU finished Herb Sendek’s first season as its coach with an 8-22 record. The Sun Devils failed to win a tournament game for the sixth straight year.
Three-pointers by Shipp and Derek Glasser capped a 15-6 run to start the second half and gave the Sun Devils a 39-38 lead, and two foul shots by Glasser with 8:28 remaining put ASU on top 45-41.
Shortly thereafter, Washington coach Lorenzo Romar implored his team to get it together during a timeout, slamming a playbook to the floor and yelling: “We’re about to go home.”
It worked, as the Huskies took over at that stage, outscoring the Sun Devils 18-6 to finish the game. A short jumper by Dentmon with 3:53 left put Washington ahead for good, and Brockman made another with 2:04 to play, making it 52-48.
Ryan Appleby, who made two 3-pointers to give him a school-record 81 this season, made five foul shots in the final 54 seconds to clinch the victory.
ASU made 8-of-13 shots to start the game for an 18-8 lead in the opening seven minutes.
Suddenly, both teams stopped scoring, and the Huskies seemed frustrated by ASU’s physical play on defense.
Washington was 4 of 16 from the floor and trailed 21-10 before Dentmon made a 3-pointer with 7 1/2 minutes left before halftime, triggering a 22-3 run that gave the Huskies a 32-24 halftime lead.
Read more at the www.eastvalleytribune.com
