Huskies return to first, tying Cal for Pac-12 lead

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Washington coach Lorenzo Romar told his team after Thursday night’s blowout loss at Oregon that they wouldn’t be watching a replay of the game because it wasn’t Huskies basketball.

Sunday’s 75-72 win at Oregon State helped Washington put the Oregon loss in the past and, more importantly, moved the Huskies into a tie for first place with California in the Paificc-12 Conference standings with three weeks left in the regular season.

“We were poor and they were very good and it’s just hard to get that out of your mind,” Romar said of Thursday’s 82-57 loss at Oregon. “Big picture, we’re tied for first place going home for two more games. I would prefer that than the alternative.”

Washington (17-8, 10-3), which pulled away in the final five minutes Sunday and held on, was led by Terrence Ross, who had 21 points and 13 rebounds, and C.J. Wilcox, who added 17.

Jared Cunningham had 23 points and seven rebounds for Oregon State (15-10, 5-8).

A loss Sunday would have dropped the Huskies into a second-place tie in the conference standings with Arizona, Colorado and Oregon, all sitting at 9-4.

“We knew how serious the game was and nobody wanted to give that away,” Wilcox said. “We just tried to stick together and get the job done. When we know we have to win games, everybody shows up.”

Washington’s Tony Wroten had 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists. The Huskies also got eight points, five rebounds and four assists from Abdul Gaddy.

Devon Collier added 16 points and Ahmad Starks 14 points for Oregon State.

Washington took the lead for good at 61-58 on Gaddy’s 3-pointer with 4:58 left. Wroten grabbed an offensive rebound and scored with 4:02 remaining to put the Huskies up five.

Oregon State wasn’t finished, though. A 3-pointer by Starks with 2:10 left made it 65-63 and another with 22 seconds to go got the Beavers within 70-68.

Washington’s Desmond Simmons made two free three throws, and Ross added two more with 10 seconds left to ice the game after Cunningham missed a 3-point try.

After a 10-point home loss to Washington State on Thursday, Oregon State coach Craig Robinson said he felt like his team avoided a second straight bad game.

“This one is hard for the guys to digest because I thought their effort was terrific,” Robinson said of his team. “I thought this was a turning point . and I hope the players feel the same way.”

The Pac-12’s top two scoring teams didn’t put on a strong shooting performance on Sunday. Washington shot 35 percent from the floor and Oregon State was at 41 percent. Both teams struggled especially in the first half.

Wilcox’s 3-pointer capped a 6-0 run that put the Huskies ahead 13-10. Oregon State answered with six in a row, with Starks scoring twice then passing to Cunningham for a transition basket.

Collier later scored four in a row in another 6-0 run that gave the Beavers a 24-19 lead. Washington finished the half on a 6-1 run to get to a 31-31 game at the break.

Washington, the conference leader in offensive rebounds at more than 14 per game, had nine at halftime and 16 for the game.

Washington (17-8) — Simmons 0-1 4-4 4, N’Diaye 2-3 2-6 6, Gaddy 3-10 0-0 8, Wroten 4-12 4-7 12, Ross 7-21 6-7 21, Wilcox 4-11 7-9 17, Seferian-Jenkins 0-2 0-0 0, Kemp Jr. 2-2 1-2 5, Gant 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 23-66 24-35 75.

Oregon St. (15-10) — Collier 6-8 4-8 16, Brandt 6-9 0-0 12, Cunningham 7-20 7-8 23, Barton 0-1 0-0 0, Starks 6-15 0-0 14, McShane 0-0 0-0 0, Burton 0-0 0-0 0, Moreland 1-4 4-8 6, Mitchell 0-0 0-0 0, Nelson 0-6 1-2 1. Totals 26-63 16-26 72. Halftime—Tied 31-31. 3-Point Goals—Washington 5-17 (Gaddy 2-3, Wilcox 2-7, Ross 1-5, Wroten 0-1, Gant 0-1), Oregon St. 4-16 (Starks 2-5, Cunningham 2-6, Barton 0-1, Nelson 0-4). Fouled Out—Gant. Rebounds—Washington 47 (Ross 13), Oregon St. 41 (Moreland 9). Assists—Washington 9 (Gaddy 4), Oregon St. 13 (Starks 4). Total Fouls—Washington 21, Oregon St. 21. A—8,027.

Stanford 59, USC 47: Chasson Randle made all four of his 3-point shots in the second half to finish with 16 points and the Cardinal defeated the Trojans in Los Angeles.

Josh Owens added 15 points for Stanford (17-8, 7-6 Pac-12).

Greg Allen scored 13 points for USC (6-20, 1-12 Pac-12). Byron Wesley scored 10 of the Trojans’ first 13 points.