Revived Wildcats humble UW
TUCSON, Ariz. – Arizona had been looking for an inside presence and its once-reliable shooting touch.
The No. 20 Wildcats found both in an 84-54 victory Saturday over Washington.
“This was critical we played a game like this,” Arizona coach Lute Olson said.
Jordan Hill provided the big body inside by leading the Wildcats (15-7, 6-5 Pac-10) with a career-high 16 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots.
Meanwhile, Arizona shot 57 percent from the field to avoid its first three-game home losing streak since 1983-84. The Wildcats had shot only 42 percent from the field since beating Washington 96-87 on Jan. 4.
The Wildcats, who hit only 22 percent from beyond the 3-point arc in the last eight games, went 5 of 12 (42.6 percent) on 3-pointers against the Huskies (14-8, 4-7).
“We saw firsthand earlier in the year their ability to shoot. They’re a good shooting team,” UW coach Lorenzo Romar said.
At the end of a disappointing 2-2 homestand, the Wildcats played as if they desperately needed a victory. They had lost six of eight games, the team’s worst prolonged stretch since Olson’s first season, 1983-84.
Looking to shake up his team, Olson started Hill in place of slumping guard Jawann McClellan. It paid off when McClellan came off the bench for the first time this year to score 15 points.
McClellan rediscovered his shooting stroke by scoring 10 of his points during a 20-4 spurt that gave Arizona a 37-20 lead with 4:05 left in the first half.
The Huskies never recovered from McClellan’s burst.
Artem Wallace had 12 points for UW, which had its three-game winning streak broken.
Arizona 84, UW 54
Washington (14-8, 4-7)—Brockman 4-9 2-2 10, Nelson 1-3 0-0 2, Wallace 6-6 0-1 12, Dentmon 3-8 0-0 7, Appleby 1-10 0-0 3, Oliver 2-6 0-0 5, Hawes 3-11 0-0 6, Burmeister 0-2 0-0 0, Gasser 1-3 0-2 2, Pondexter 3-5 1-2 7. Totals 24-63 3-7 54.
Arizona (15-7, 6-5)—Williams 4-9 3-4 11, Budinger 6-11 0-1 15, Hill 7-9 2-2 16, Radenovic 4-5 6-6 14, Shakur 1-4 0-2 2, McClellan 4-7 6-7 15, Bagga 0-0 0-0 0, Dillon 1-2 0-0 3, Wise 0-0 0-0 0, Onobun 2-3 0-0 4, Brielmaier 2-4 0-2 4. Totals 31-54 17-24 84.
Halftime—Arizona 45, Washington 26. 3-point goals—Washington 3-20 (Dentmon 1-3, Oliver 1-4, Appleby 1-8, Burmeister 0-1, Gasser 0-2, Nelson 0-2), Arizona 5-12 (Budinger 3-5, Dillon 1-2, McClellan 1-3, Williams 0-2). Fouled out—None. Rebounds—Washington 25 (Hawes 6), Arizona 42 (Hill, Radenovic 8). Assists—Washington 14 (Appleby, Oliver 4), Arizona 21 (Shakur 8). Total fouls—Washington 18, Arizona 10. A—14,118.