No. 10 Washington 79, Arizona St. 70

By BOB BAUMAP Sports Writer TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) – Halfway through the Pac-10 schedule, the Washington Huskies are back in a tie for first place with Arizona. The 10th-ranked Huskies climbed back on top Sunday with a rough-and-tumble 79-70 victory over Arizona State. “To the world, it doesn’t look like a big deal, another victory, but this is a big deal,” Washington coach Lorenzo Romar said. “(Arizona State) is a good team that was playing very confident basketball. We were on their turf, with first place at stake, and our guys stepped up and did a marvelous job.” Nate Robinson scored 23 points, 18 of them in the second half when the Huskies finally pulled away from the persistent Sun Devils. “I was just shooting when I know it was going to go in, not just hoping it would go in,” Robinson said. “I was having fun out there. I mean, we played so much better today.” Robinson scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half and the Huskies (17-3, 7-2) moved back into a tie with Arizona for first place in the Pac-10. The Huskies 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. “I thought we did a good job of pretty much everything except handling their pressure,” Arizona State coach Rob Evans said. The Huskies got the rough game they expected. “Coach just said to make sure our defense is tenacious,” Robinson said, “to come out and fight because he knows this game is pretty much a backyard brawl. They play pressure defense like us. That coach recruits hard-nosed players. That’s the kind of basketball we like to play. We play it every day in practice. We foul, we scratch, we claw. That’s how they play.” Diogu, the Pac-10 leader in scoring and rebounding, had his 11th double-double of the season, but he struggled much of the afternoon. He dropped two wide-open passes inside, missed a dunk, and failed to connect on the front end of a 1-and-1, despite being an 82 percent free throw shooter. “He’s a great player, and he’s played a lot of great basketball games,” Evans said. “Sometimes people expect him to be perfect. He’s not perfect.” By far the NCAA leader in free throws attempted, Diogu had only one in this game. “I guess I just wasn’t being aggressive enough,” Diogu said. “That’s just the bottom line.” 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. Romar’s technical foul led to five points that briefly gave Arizona State the lead in the second half. The coach, who said it was his first technical in two years, 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 their coach’s emotional outburst gave the Huskies the boost they needed. Roy’s three-point play triggered an 11-0 run that put Washington in control for good. “It kind of got us fired up to see Coach right there with us, fighting for us,” Robinson said. “To show that side of him was big for us. The coach said `You see how they’re doing so go out there with your hard hats on and just play, go out there and give me a `W”, and that’s what we did.”