Resurgent UW Wins Again Luton’s Gamebreaker Does In Oregon State

Deon Luton scored 22 points, including a key 17-footer late in the game, to lead the Washington Huskies to a 70-55 win over Oregon State on Saturday night.

The Huskies (11-3, 4-1) also got 19 points from Donald Watts and 18 from Todd MacCulloch, as the Beavers (9-8, 0-6) lost their sixth straight game.

Washington’s lead was still just 54-48 with 6:30 remaining in the game when Luton lofted a 17-footer over Oregon State’s Deaundra Tanner.

The shot was part of an 11-4 run that put the Huskies in control for the final minutes.

Oregon State, which got 11 points from both John-Blair Bickerstaff and Ron Grady, saw its shooting woes continue.

The Beavers shot just 32.8 percent (20 for 61) from the field.

Oregon State trailed 49-46 after Grady hit a 15-footer with 9:13 to go, but Grady had to leave the game a short time later with an injury.

That’s when Washington began its decisive surge, eventually building a 60-50 lead on Luton’s 3-pointer with 4:40 remaining.

“Well, that’s what we wanted,” said Washington coach Bob Bender, whose Huskies swept their first conference road trip since 1987.

“It was hard fought and there was certainly nothing easy about it.

“It took a concentrated effort, and I was really happy with the way the group ended the first half to give us that cushion, even though it was just a slight one at three points (29-26). They got us through a tight spot. Then we regrouped.”

Washington is 4-1 in the Pac-Ten for the first time since 1987 and 11-3 overall for the first time since 1984.

“As good as it is to have these two wins, now it means nothing,” Bender said. “We’ve got a long ride back tonight and the kids will enjoy it tonight. We’re a mature team, and we’ll put it in perspective and really take advantage of tomorrow, rest, and get ready for Monday.”

Oregon State gave a better showing than it had in Thursday’s loss to Washington State, but still is looking for its first conference win.

“In a strange way, we got better (from Thursday), but we didn’t get it done. I had a hard time figuring out what to tell the players after the game,” Oregon State Eddie Payne said. “We made some major changes offensively in one day and we were searching for some players to get it done.”

Oregon State relied more on its post players providing screens and gave Sasa Petrovic more playing time in search of a consistent scorer, but still dropped to 0-6, its worst start ever in the Pac-10.

Washington 70, Oregon St. 55

WASHINGTON (11-3) - Luton 9-20 0-0 22, Femerling 0-2 1-4 1, MacCulloch 7-10 4-5 18, Wooten 2-6 0-2 5, Watts 4-8 10-11 19, Thompson 1-3 3-4 5, Green 0-2 0-0 0, Walcott 0-0 0-0 0, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-51 18-26 70.

OREGON ST (9-8) - Bickerstaff 4-6 3-4 11, S. Benjamin 1-3 0-0 2, Woods 0-6 1-2 1, C. Benjamin 4-14, 2-3 10, Tanner 2-9 3-3 7, Marshall 0-2 0-0 0, Petrovic 0-4 0-0 0, Vaden 3-7 0-0 8, Grady 5-8 1-2 11, Heide 1-2 3-4 5. Totals 20-61 13-18 55.

Halftime-Washington 29, Oregon St. 26. 3-Point goals- Washington 6-15 (Luton 4-11, Wooten 1-3, Watts 1-1), Oregon St 2-16 (C. Benjamin 0-4, Tanner 0-1, Petrovic 0-4, Vaden 2-5, Grady 0-1). Fouled out-Bickerstaff. Rebounds-Washington 41 (Femerling 10), Oregon St 36 (C. Benjamin 7). Assists-Washington 15 (Watts 4), Oregon St 9 (C. Benjamin 3). Total fouls-Washington 16, Oregon St 20. A-6,236.