Simmons' shooting slump
ends against Sun Devils
BY TIM BOOTH
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEATTLE — So much for TYe Sim
mons’ shooting slump.
The Washington senior tied a ca
reer-high with 29 points and made 6
of 7 three-pointers, and No. 14
Washington held off pesky Arizona
State 90-82 Thursday night.
Simmons, Washington’s leading
scorer at 16.1 points per game, has
struggled shooting recently, includ
ing a 1-for-11 performance two
weeks ago at Oregon.
He had 16 in a win last weekend
at Washington State and broke out
in a big way against the Sun Devils,
shooting 9 for 19.
“I just came out aggressive,” Sim
mons said. “I’m a shooter, that’s
what I do.”
Nate Robinson added 21 points
for Washington, including eight in
the final 5:20. He punctuated the
night on a dunk with three seconds
left, as the Huskies survived the Sun
Devils’ challenge.
“I don’t know who we were out
there, but they were like Joe Fra
zier,” Washington coach Lorenzo
Romar said. “They just kept com
ing at us and they played at a very
high level.”
Arizona State’s Ike Diogu, leading
the Pac-10 in scoring and rebound
ing, had a game-high 31 points and
15 rebounds. He was 17 for 18 from
the foul line and had 24 points in
the second half.
“Ike is a grown man playing a
college basketball game,” Robin
son said. “He’s like a train
going downhill.”
Washington (22-4, 12-3 Pac-10)
won its 21st straight home game
and stayed one and one-half games
behind Arizona in the Pac-10. The
Huskies host the Wildcats
on Saturday.
Simmons left the court hobbling
after diving for a loose ball in the
first minute of the second half.
Simmons said he fell on his right
hip which he had bruised in prac
tice last week.
Less than two minutes later,
Simmons returned and ignited a
14-5 run, scoring 12 of Washing
ton’s points during a four-minute
span. The run gave the Huskies a
58-48 lead, its first double-digit
lead of the game.
“You just got to find the shooter.
TYe was hot and we just kept feeding
him,” Robinson said. “You’ve got to
milk them as long as you can. ”
But Washington could not shake
the Sun Devils, who stayed in the
game thanks to a 29-for-32 perform
ance at the free throw line. The
teams combined for 44 fouls.
Arizona State scored 10 of its next
19 points at the foul stripe and cut
the lead to 69-67. Washington
pushed the lead back to eight, but
eight points from Diogu kept the
Sun Devils close, trailing 83-80 with
1:20 left.
Robinson scored on a runner with
45 seconds left. On Arizona State’s
next possession, Tyrone Jackson
was called for a charge, and Wash
ington made 3-of-4 free throws in
the final 26.5 seconds.
“We haven’t played a game
against Arizona State in three years
that wasn’t physical like that,” Ro
mar said. “It’s the nature of our
games. We both play an aggressive,
attacking style.”
Will Conroy added 13 points and
Bobby Jones had 12 for Washing
ton. Kevin Kruger had 17 for Ari
zona State (18-10, 7-9 Pac-10),
which lost its fourth straight to
the Huskies.
“We played really well. We did
everything but win the basketball
game,” Arizona State coach Rob
Evans said. “Key stops at critical
times didn’t allow us to win
the game. ”
Washington can complete its
first undefeated home campaign
since 1984 with a win Saturday.
Washington’s last home loss was
Jan. 10, 2004, an 86-84 overtime
loss to UCLA.
With wins in their final three
games, the Huskies will clinch at
least a share of the conference regu
lar season title. Washington hasn’t
claimed a share of the Pac-10 regu
lar season title since 1985 and have
not won a conference title outright
since winning the Pacific Coast
Conference in 1953.
“We’re ready and looking forward
to having some fun,” Robinson said.
Washington was hoping to get
some help from their cross-state ri
vals Thursday night, but Arizona
held off Washington State 57-56
in overtime.
Washington led 44-41 at halftime
on the strength of 54 percent shoot
ing and making 7-of-10 three-point
attempts. But for only the second
time against Pac-10 foes, Washing
ton never led by double-digits in the
first half.
IN BRIEF
OSU secures first winning
season in fifteen years
CORVALLIS, Ore. — David Lu
cas had 21 points and 14 rebounds,
and Oregon State clinched its first
winning season in 15 years with an
84-83 win over Stanford on
Thursday night.
Jason Fontenet added 15 points
for the Beavers (15-11, 7-8 Pacific
10 Conference). Nick Dewitz and
Sasa Cuic had 12 points each.
Stanford (15-10, 9-6) trailed
nearly the entire game and lost to
the Beavers for the first time in
12 meetings.
Chris Hernandez led the Cardi
nal with 29 points on 8-of-18
shooting and 10-of-ll free throws.
Matt Harysz added 15 points and
nine rebounds.
The Beavers led by nine with
three minutes left, but poor foul
shooting opened the door for
the Cardinal.
But Lucas hit two big baskets
and the Beavers made enough free
throws to hold off Stanford despite
3-pointers by Nick Robinson and
Hernandez in the final 20 seconds.
The Beavers' last winning sea
son was 1990. Led by Gary Payton,
that team won the Pac-10 and lost
in the first round of the
NCAA tournament.
Oregon State, which has no con
ference road wins, ran its overall
home record to 11-1.
The Cardinal won three in a row
and nine of their last 11. It remains
in third place in the conference.
The Beavers led 43-34 after a
fast-paced first half where they
shot nearly 50 percent and made
six 3-pointers. The game was tied
at 16 when Oregon State went on
an 11-2 run that included two
threes by Fontenet and one by
Chris Stephens
Stanford opened up the second
half with a 12-2 run and got within
a point when Hernandez convert
ed a a three-point play at 14:19.
A key injury and some midseason
departures have whittled the Stan
ford roster down to nine players.
Leading scorer Dan Grunfeld was
lost for the year when he tore a knee
ligament on Feb. 12, but the Cardi
nal still beat California and then
swept the Los Angeles schools.
— The Associated Press
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Frye contends loss
improved Arizona
Wildcats' Pac-10 play
BY NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PULLMAN, Wash. — The way
Arizona’s Channing Frye sees it,
getting upset by Washington State
last month helped the Wildcats in
the long run.
After losing to the Cougars in Tlic
son, Frye and Co. realized they need
ed to play better if they wanted to
stay in first place in the Pacific-10
Conference.
That lesson helped the Wildcats
withstand another strong challenge
from Washington State on Thursday
night, with Ivan Radenovic sinking
two free throws with 9 seconds left
in overtime to give No. 9 Arizona a
57-56 victory.
It was the seventh straight win for
the Wildcats since losing to Wash
ington State in late January.
“Earlier in the year, we would
have lost this game,” said Frye, who
led all scorers with 26 points, and
added eight rebounds and four
blocked shots.
“It was the best case scenario in
Ticson,” said Frye, who made 11-of
13 shots even as Arizona was held
23 points below its season scoring
average. “It brought us together as a
team and showed us what we’ve
got to work on.”
Radenovic, who added 10 points
and eight rebounds, said he wasn’t
nervous as he went to the line with
the game on the line and his team
trailing 56-55.
“Every basketball player is look
ing for that moment when he hits
the free throws to win a game,”
Radenovic said.
Arizona coach Lute Olson was
also happy to see Radenovic at
the line.
“If you noticed, neither one of
those touched the rim,” Olson said.
Derrick Low’s three-point shot for
Washington State rimmed out in the
closing seconds and Radenovic re
bounded for the Wildcats (24-4, 14
2), who won for the 17th time
at Pullman.
The win gave Olson 304 wins in
the Pac-10, tied with legendary
UCLA coach John Wooden for most
wins ever in the league.
“It’s really an honor for me to
have been in here long enough to
have the opportunity to tie him,”
Olson said.
Olson is 41-3 against Washington
State.
Washington State (10-14, 5-10),
fighting for one of eight spots in the
Pac-10 tournament, employed a
slow-down offense and the league’s
best defense snarled Arizona’s up
tempo offense.
The Cougars rank seventh in the
nation defensively, and best in Pac
10, giving up 57 points per game.
“That’s a game that was
winnable, that’s the hard part,” said
Washington State coach Dick Ben
nett. The Cougars were seeking
their first sweep of Arizona since
the 1982-83 season.
“Channing Frye was the difference,
as he has been so many times in the
past against us,” Bennett said.
Thomas Kelati led the Cougars
with 16 points, and also held Salim
Stoudamire, Arizona’s leading scorer,
to eight points, 10 below his average.
The Cougars broke a 38-game los
ing streak to Arizona with a 70-63
win in January, one of the biggest
wins in Washington State’s recent
history. But the Cougars have lost
five of six games since.
The score was tied at 49 at the
end of regulation after Frye scored
inside with 51 seconds left.
Stoudamire’s two free throws gave
Arizona a 51-49 lead. A three-pointer
by Kelati gave Washington State a 52
51 lead, but Hassan Adams’ layup
put Arizona ahead 53-52.
Two free throws by Low and two
more by Kelati made it 56-53 for
Washington State with 2:03 left.
Mustafa Shakur replied with a layup
for Arizona to close to 56-55.
Robbie Cowgill missed and Ari
zona got the ball back with 23 sec
onds left. Radenovic drove to the
basket and was fouled by Chris
Schlatter. Then Radenovic calmly
tied it and put the Wildcats ahead
from the line.
At times playing four freshmen,
Washington State led 32-30 after the
first half.
Two free throws by Frye tied the
game at 42 with 7:52 left, and his
bank shot gave Arizona its first
lead, 44-42.
After Frye powered in for a layup
to tie the score at 49, Washington
State turned the ball over and Ari
zona called a timeout with 13.8 sec
onds left.
Stoudamire dribbled inside as the
clock ran down, but was striped of
the ball by Kyle Weaver and the
game went into overtime.
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