University of Washington
12-5; 4-1
Arizona State
11-7; 1-4
Andrews Scores 30, Washington Downs Arizona State 89-85
January 17, 2016 | Men's Basketball
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Andrew Andrews, the Pac-12's leading scorer, pumped in 30 points on Saturday and Washington outlasted Arizona State 89-85.
Andrews also had 12 assists and six rebounds and hit six free throws in the closing seconds.
Andrews did all that despite playing on a sore right ankle which required treatments on Friday and Saturday.
"Once you get going and start playing, you can mentally block it out," Andrews said.
Washington (12-5, 4-1) entered the game as the Pac-12's worst shooting team (41.2 percent) and hit 13 of its first 17 shots. Andrews had 18 points in the first half as the Huskies took a 44-34 lead. The 44 points were the most Arizona State had given up in the first half this season.
The loss was a big one for the Sun Devils' NCAA tournament chances. ASU, which had a No. 40 RPI heading into the game, fell to 11-7, 1-4.
Kodi Justice had 17 points to lead the Sun Devils. Obinna Oleka added 13 points and 11 boards.
The Huskies had collapsed in the second half of a blowout loss Thursday at Arizona. But they fended off several late Sun Devils rallies Saturday.
"I couldn't be prouder of our team," Washington coach Lorenzo Romar said. "You get a split anywhere on the road in this conference, that's saying something."
Matisse Thybulle hit a 3-pointer to give the Huskies a 79-70 lead with 2:24 remaining. The Devils cut the lead to 79-75, but Andrews set up Thybulle for another 3-pointer that made it 83-75 with 1:03 left.
ASU's Willie Atwood countered with a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 83-80 with 37.6 seconds left. But Andrews' free throws in the closing seconds secured the win.
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TIP-INS
Washington: The Huskies are 22-6 vs. the Sun Devils under coach Lorenzo Romar, including five straight wins in Tempe.
Arizona State: The Sun Devils hit 28-for-33 from the free-throw line against Washington State Thursday night. They struggled badly Saturday, shooting only 16-for-29. They entered the game the No. 2 team in the Pac-12 in free-throw percentage.
A THIN MARGIN OF ERROR
"The biggest problem was free-throw shooting," said a disappointed ASU coach Bobby Hurley. "That's something you really can control to large degree. In a game where your margin of error isn't great, you can't shoot that number and expect to win."
UP NEXT
Washington hosts Colorado on Wednesday night.
Arizona State is at California on Thursday night.
