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Washington Grabs Sole Possession of Top Spot In Pac-10

First place in the Pac-10 remains in Seattle as the Huskies christened Hec Edmondson Pavilion’s newly sponsored Alaskan Airlines Arena with an 85-68 victory over the Arizona Wildcats on Thursday night. The Huskies moved to 6-1 in the league to take sole possession of the catbird seat.

In a matchup which pitted two of the conference’s best players against one another, all eyes were on Washington guard Isaiah Thomas and Arizona forward Derrick Williams. Thomas, who had a career high in assists, last week in a victory over the California Golden Bears, had a repeat performance Thursday night with 22 points and 10 assists for his second double-double of the season.

Williams, who fouled out in just seven minutes last year in the game versus Washington at Hec Ed, also finished with a double-double at 22 points and 11 rebounds. The biggest assist for the Huskies was foul trouble for the Wildcats' star forward. Williams, who started the half with a three-point jumper, picked up his fourth foul with 13:13 remaining in the game.

The unselfish play of Thomas allowed his teammates to threaten Arizona from every part of the court. Justin Holiday and Matthew Bryan-Amaning both scored in double figures: Holiday rose to the occasion with 22 points, including a three-pointer to push Thomas to 10 assists. Bryan-Amaning finished with 18 points and seven rebounds. With Thomas, Holiday and Bryan-Amaning all scoring in double figures, the Wildcats struggled to silence the Huskies' roster of scorers. Moreover, with Williams on the bench, the high-powered Husky offense went to work stretching UW's lead to nine in the 10 minutes Arizona spent playing without Williams. 

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Despite Williams’ double-double, the Wildcats could not find a way to overcome the all-around play of Washington. Shooting specialist Kyle Fogg needed to threaten from the outside for Arizona, but he instead scored just three points and was 0-for-2 from the free throw line.

Washington shot 48 percent from the field including 33.3 percent behind the arc. The Huskies' Achilles heel, however, continues to be their poor free throw shooting. At just 64.5 percent on Thursday, the Huskies left a lot of points at the line. A 20-of-31 conversion rate allowed Arizona to stay closer than it frankly should have.

Arizona moves to 4-2 in conference play and will head across the mountains to play the Washington State Cougars on Saturday.

The Huskies look to remain unbeaten at home this Saturday as they take on the Arizona State Sun Devils.

By Ganelle Swehla
DFN Sports Staff Writer