University of Washington
Arizona
Washington Drops Decision To No. 11 Arizona, 91-82
February 07, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Feb 7, 2002
By MEL REISNER
AP Sports Writer
TUCSON, Ariz. - Salim Stoudamire and Jason Gardner both made pivotal 3-pointers and No. 11 Arizona survived poor free throw shooting and a career-high 35 points by Doug Wrenn to beat Washington 91-82 Thursday night.
Stoudamire had 14 of his 17 points in the second half, while Gardner scored 11 of his 13 in the final 20 minutes.
Luke Walton led the Wildcats (16-6, 9-3 Pac-10) with 21 points, but had just four in the second half when the Huskies rallied from a 19-point deficit to get within seven in the final nine minutes.
Channing Frye came back from a mild ankle sprain to get 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Rick Anderson scored 11 points for Arizona. The Wildcats won their third straight and eighth in their last 10 by beating Washington for the 18th time in coach Lute Olson's 19 years overseeing the Arizona program.
David Dixon had 11 points for the Huskies (8-14, 2-10), who lost their third straight.
Wrenn, who had 32 points against Oregon on Jan. 24 and 34 against Washington State on Jan. 31, was 15-of-23 from the field in the biggest game for a Huskies player since Todd MacCulloch had 38 points on Dec. 7, 1996.
Wrenn led Washington in scoring for the ninth consecutive game and his nine 20-plus games exceed last season's output by the team. But he didn't have anyone to balance the offense against the Wildcats.
Arizona, which is 11-0 when tied or leading at halftime, extended a nine-point lead to 64-45 with a 21-11 run over the first 5:56 of the second half.
Gardner, 0-for-6 in the first half, had a layup and 3-pointer, and Stoudamire also scored five points in the run, which Frye capped with a three-point play after inducing Dixon to commit his fourth foul.
Arizona then went more than five minutes without a field goal, and Wrenn scored nine straight points in a 2:56 span to bring the Huskies within 67-60 with 8:56 to play.
With 6:31 to go, Stoudamire nailed a 3-pointer to give Arizona a 74-61 lead, and Gardner had one 54 seconds later to make it 78-63.
The Wildcats were 14-for-28 from the free throw line in the second half, missing eight of nine in the minutes after Washington closed in, but managed to extend their lead with good defense.
