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Wildcats pounce Cougars: 66 - 56

After perhaps saving their Pac-10 season by defeating first-place Washington on Thursday night, the Arizona Wildcats took the McKale Center court 38 hours later for an equally significant follow-up clash against the Washington State Cougars.

Things were beginning to look dicey for the home team during the Saturday matinee in Tucson when Washington State senior point guard Taylor Rochestie converted a layup to put the visiting Cougars ahead 39-32 with 13:40 remaining. But just as they did at a similar point in Thursday’s contest against Washington, the Wildcats responded Saturday by launching their collective games into overdrive, embarking upon a 24-2 scoring run to pave the way for a 66-56 victory.

“I’m really proud of our guys, especially (for the way they played) in the second half,” Arizona interim head coach Russ Pennell said. “In the first half, I thought we played well. I just thought we looked like we were running uphill a little bit. I don’t know if that’s just the energy we used against Washington or the length of the season or the 11 o’clock start or whatever. We don’t like our guys to use excuses, so I won’t use any, either. It was just a fact that we weren’t quite up to where I thought we should be. But in the second half we came out and got aggressive and things turned around. So I’m very happy with this win and this weekend.”

Arizona’s momentum-reversing barrage began when Nic Wise and Chase Budinger hit consecutive three-pointers and Jordan Hill followed with a 6-foot runner to put the Wildcats ahead to stay at 40-39. The UA’s 8-0 blitz grew to 16-0 on a 5-footer off the glass by Budinger, a layup by Kyle Fogg, a pair of free throws by Budinger and a drive to the basket through traffic by Fogg.

The Wildcats (14-8 overall, 4-5 Pac-10) did not stop there.

After Rochestie momentarily stemmed the tide by making Washington State’s first field goal in six minutes, Arizona ran off eight more points on a jumper from the left baseline by Wise, a triple from beyond the top of the arc by Budinger and a three-point rainbow from the right baseline by Zane Johnson.

“I guess that was great defense,” Budinger said about the UA’s game-changing sequence. “We got some key steals. We were able to get out and run, and people knocked down big shots. The biggest shot was Zane’s shot in the corner. That really just put us over the top as far as momentum.”

With the Wildcats leading 56-41 following Johnson’s three-ball, Washington State head coach Tony Bennett used the Cougars’ final timeout with 4:23 remaining. After that, the Cougars (12-9, 4-5) cut their deficit to 10 points on four occasions and drew to within eight at 64-56 with 27 seconds left, but they never were able to mount a serious threat.

Budinger led Arizona with 19 points and added 11 rebounds and seven assists. After making just 1 of 8 field goals in the opening half, the 6-foot-7 junior wing swished 4 of 9 from the field after the intermission and also knocked down 7 of 7 free throws.

“At halftime we told Chase we loved the shots he was taking,” Pennell said. “I thought he had great looks in the first half; they just didn’t go in. The one thing we wanted him to do was be more aggressive going to the basket, just start driving the ball more.”

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“I knew I kind of had to stop settling for jump shots,” said Budinger. “I needed to get to the rim and get to the free-throw line. That’s what I did. I was able to be more aggressive by attacking the rim. I was able to get to the free-throw line and get some easy free throws. I think that just helped my confidence.”

Budinger was one of four UA players to score in double figures. Hill provided his usual production in the paint with 16 points and 16 rebounds, while Fogg finished with 15 points and Johnson added 10.

Wise played all 40 minutes at point guard, ending the day with six points, four assists and three steals.

Rochestie finished with 22 points to lead WSU, while center Aron Baynes added 12 points and 14 rebounds for the Cougars.

With the Thursday-Saturday sweep of the Washington schools, Arizona concluded its four-game, mid-season homestand with three victories. After a 53-47 loss to Arizona State on Jan. 21, the Wildcats rebounded with a non-conference comeback win in overtime over Houston on Jan. 24 and the twin triumphs this weekend over Washington and Washington State. In doing so, Arizona defeated a UW team which came into Tucson holding sole possession of first place in the Pac-10, and then knocked off a WSU squad which had beaten Arizona State 65-55 two nights earlier.

“We’ve been starting to win close games down the stretch,” Budinger said. “We’ve been finishing games off. We’re just continuing to get better. This is the time of the season that teams will keep on getting better or kind of drop off.”

By Tom Kessler
DFN Sports Staff Writer