Jan. 30, 2005
By BOB BAUM
AP Sports Writer
TEMPE, Ariz. - Nate Robinson scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half and No. 10 Washington pulled away to beat Arizona State 79-70 on Sunday and move back into a tie with Arizona for first place in the Pac-10.
The Huskies (17-3, 7-2) lost 92-83 at No. 11 Arizona on Thursday night. But Washington State upset Arizona on Saturday, clearing the way for the Huskies to regain a share of the conference lead by beating ASU.
Ike Diogu had 14 points and 13 rebounds for Arizona State, his 80th double-digit scoring game in his 80-game collegiate career. Kevin Kruger added 12 points but had five turnovers, while Steve Moore scored 11 and Bryson Krueger 10 for the Sun Devils (15-6, 4-5).
Arizona State committed 21 turnovers against Washington's tight defense, compared with 11 for the Huskies.
Robinson, bouncing back from a sub-par game at Arizona, was 8-of-12 from the field, including 6-of-8 in the second half, and was 2-of-4 on 3-pointers.
Tre Simmons scored 15 points and Brandon Roy had 12 for Washington. Jamaal Williams added 11 points, six during the decisive 11-0 second-half run.
Washington shot out to an early eight-point lead, but Arizona State stayed close and trailed 34-30 at halftime.
The Sun Devils cut the lead to two twice early in the second half, then a technical foul on Washington coach Lorenzo Romar resulted in five Arizona State points and briefly gave the Sun Devils the lead.
Romar charged to the baseline to protest an offensive foul call on Bobby Jones and drew a technical from referee Deron White. Kruger made both free throws, then Tyrone Jackson hit a 3-pointer from the corner to put Arizona State ahead 43-41 with 13:46 to go.
But Roy's three-point play triggered the 11-0 run that put the Huskies ahead for good. Williams, was 4-for-5 from the field, scored the last two of his six in the surge on a rebound to put Washington ahead 52-43 with 11:08 to play.
Robinson's 3-pointer put the Huskies up 64-54 and his two free throws gave Washington a 68-57 lead with 4:03 to go. Krueger's 3-pointer cut it to 64-57, but the Huskies went 13-of-14 from the free throw line down the stretch, including 4-of-4 by Robinson, to seal the victory.
After watching Arizona go 38-for-40 from the foul line on Thursday night, the Huskies made 22 of 25 free throws, compared with 9-of-14 for ASU.