Ted S. Warren | The Associated Press
Washington’s Darnell Gant dunks against Arizona State as the Huskies’ Aziz N’Diaye looks on at left, in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Thursday in Seattle.
SEATTLE (AP) — Thanks to an impressive first 20 minutes, Washington got away with being sloppy and unfocused, potentially looking ahead to who looms Saturday.
Terrence Ross led four Washington players in double figures with 18 points, and the Huskies stayed tied for first place in the Pac-12 with a 77-69 victory over Arizona State on Thursday night.
Aside from too many turnovers, the Huskies’ first-half performance was as good as coach Lorenzo Romar could remember when trying to decipher Arizona State’s frustrating zone defense. The Huskies were patient with their shots and shared the ball, which led to an 18-point lead at halftime.
And then the Huskies (18-8, 11-3 Pac-12) seemed done and ready for Saturday’s showdown against Arizona. The result was a 24-point lead that was briefly trimmed in half and eventually a nine-point victory with a final margin far less impressive than it could have been.
“We got bored with success trying to get the game over with,” Washington guard Abdul Gaddy said.
Fortunately for Washington, Ross was one of the few not to get bored. Already having proven himself as a second-half scorer, Ross hit 4 of 5 shots after the break and had 11 points as the Huskies won for the seventh time in eight games despite their lapses.
Washington remained tied with California for the Pac-12 lead after the Golden Bears held on for an 86-83 win over Oregon, setting up Saturday’s showdown against Arizona. The last three games between the Wildcats and Huskies have come down to the final possession, with Washington winning twice, including 69-67 late last month in Tucson.
But Thursday was far from the crisp effort Romar would have liked to see from his squad. Washington seemed disinterested for stretches and committed 15 turnovers that offset shooting 49 percent.
C.J. Wilcox, who played sparingly in the first meeting against the Sun Devils, had 14 points for Washington. Tony Wroten added 13 and Aziz N’Diaye 12.
“We need to mature better and handle success better,” Gaddy said. “It was surprising because we were doing so much better than that. We just need to make sure that gets better before Saturday.”
If there was good to take out of the, it was the Huskies’ run late in the first half that was dominant despite one flurry of turnovers.
Washington and Arizona State combined to turn it over six times in a 90-second span, but it was the Huskies getting the easy baskets that turned a five-point lead into an 18-point advantage at halftime. Darnell Gant scored all nine of his points during the first-half run, which included an open 3-pointer and a follow dunk off an N’Diaye miss.
Washington shot 61 percent in the first half, and if not for 10 turnovers, the Huskies might have led by 25 by halftime. Washington also exploited the Sun Devils’ zone defense from the perimeter after failing to do so in the first meeting in Tempe. Washington finished with eight 3-pointers after making just one in the first matchup.
“What we did in the first half would make us competitive with just about anybody we would play,” Romar said.
Carrick Felix led Arizona State (8-18, 4-10) with 13 points, but the Sun Devils lost for the fourth time in their last five. The Sun Devils put a little bit of angst and grumbling in the crowd with a 16-4 second-half spurt that cut Washington’s lead to 11 as the Huskies had just one field goal in 5 minutes. Those concerns quickly went away after Wilcox scored five straight points, and the lead was back to 17 with 9:30 remaining.
“I think our guys had really good intentions,” Arizona State coach Herb Sendek said. “Our hearts were in the right place. Obviously that spurt at the end of the first half really hurt us. I know it’s a broken record, but it’s been the same problem for us turnovers. We had 19 turnovers in the game, which helps to fuel their transition game.”
Arizona State shot 49 percent but committed 19 turnovers. Trent Lockett, who missed the first game against Washington, had 11 points, and Jordan Bachynski and Chris Colvin both scored 10.
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