Seniors lead way
SEATTLE – It was Senior Day for the Washington basketball team, with each departing player saluted before Saturday’s game against Arizona.
One by one, each guy with expiring eligibility was introduced to the crowd, handed flowers for their mothers, greeted with his individual accomplishments read out loud, handed a plaque and given a hug by the coach.
UW might consider celebrating this day more often.
Of the older guys, Tre Simmons supplied the offense, Will Conroy the defense and Hakeem Rollins a clutch moment, their experienced efforts leading to a satisfying 93-85 victory over Arizona in a first-place Pac-10 showdown at sold-out Hec Edmundson Pavilion.
The outcome allowed UW (23-4 league, 13-3 league) to pull within a half game of the Wildcats (24-5, 14-3) in the standings with a week left in the regular season. The Huskies also closed out their home schedule with their 22nd consecutive victory inside Hec Ed stretching over two seasons and avenged an earlier 91-82 defeat in Tucson.
“Based on what was at stake, it was a huge performance by our team,” Huskies coach Lorenzo Romar said. “It’s no secret that Arizona was a great basketball team playing good basketball. Our guys came out and competed with as much heart as they could muster up.”
It started with Simmons, who hit his first three shots, each from 3-point range, to keep the fast-starting Wildcats from jumping too far out front. He finished with a team-high 24 points.
It continued with Conroy, assigned the task of stopping Salim Stoudamire and limiting the Arizona guard to just 15 points – 12 fewer than in their first meeting. Conroy also came up with four assists to break Chester Dorsey’s school record by three, giving him 166 for the season.
And it was punctuated by the 6-foot-7 Rollins, who dunked in a missed shot in a four-point game inside the final 2 minutes to finally break Arizona’s will. The Wildcats never got any closer.
“I thought we had them on the run a couple of times, but they did a great job of maintaining their poise,” Wildcats coach Lute Olson said, denied his 305th league victory, which would has surpassed John Wooden and made Olson the all-time leader.
Arizona, the league’s preseason favorite, threatened to pull away early and remained a serious threat to the end with its dominating inside game. The Huskies had no answer for 6-11 senior Channing Frye, who led all scorers with 30 points. The post player connected on 13 of 15 shots attempts, throwing down five dunks. But he was not nearly enough to head off the host team.
“They were more patient, they were at home and they hit shots,” the center said.
The Wildcats made all the right calls early in this one. They led for almost the first 11 minutes of play, though by never more than five.
The Huskies finally caught them when Conroy raced past Dorsey. The senior guard picked up his 164th assist of the season and broke a 29-year-old season record by feeding one low to Jamaal Williams, who tossed in one of his familiar one-handers. The landmark play gave the UW its first tie, at 23.
Conroy also was responsible for the Huskies’ first lead. He drove hard to the basket and lofted one that Frye swatted off the backboard and goaltending was called. That provided the home team a 29-27 edge with 5:29 left in the half.
Arizona led for the last time when Ivan Radenovic hit a jumper from the top of the keygood for a 31-30 advantage.
It lasted just 26 seconds.
Washington 93, Arizona 85
Arizona (24-5, 14-3)–Radenovic 4-8 0-2 8, Frye 13-15 4-4 30, Shakur 2-5 0-0 5, Stoudamire 5-15 1-4 15, Adams 9-15 0-0 18, McClellan 3-8 0-1 7, Rodgers 0-3 0-0 0, Walters 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 37-70 5-11 85.
Washington (23-4, 13-3)–Jones 5-8 1-2 13, Rollins 1-2 0-0 2, Simmons 9-14 1-2 24, Robinson 6-12 7-8 22, Conroy 3-7 3-4 9, Smith 1-3 2-2 4, Roy 5-6 0-1 10, Williams 3-5 0-0 6, Jensen 1-3 0-0 3, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-60 14-19 93.
Halftime–Washington 42, Arizona 35. 3-point goals–Arizona 6-23 (Stoudamire 4-12, Shakur 1-3, McClellan 1-5, Rodgers 0-3), Washington 11-24 (Simmons 5-10, Robinson 3-6, Jones 2-2, Jensen 1-2, Conroy 0-2, Smith 0-2). Fouled out–Shakur. Rebounds–Arizona 32 (Adams 9), Washington 32 (Roy 9). Assists–Arizona 24 (Shakur 7), Washington 21 (Robinson 7). Total fouls–Arizona 18, Washington 15. Technicals–Stoudamire, Robinson. A–10,000.