Huskies rally to beat Cougars

PULLMAN — Tony Wroten scored 21 points and went 9 of 12 from the free throw line as he led Washington over Washington State in true comeback fashion 59-55.

Washington (20-8, 13-3) erased a 45-32 deficit with 11 minutes left in the game to win.

"We knew it was going to be a rough game - as rough as any game we had left in the regular season," Washington coach Lorenzo Romar said. "Our guys stuck with it and found a way to win, despite us shooting 35 percent."

Wroten was everywhere for the Huskies. After helping stake Washington to a 6-0 lead, the Cougars (14-14, 6-10) went on a 10-0 run and capitalized as the Huskies went scoreless from the field for nearly eight minutes.

Wroten broke the drought when he split the key for a layup. C.J. Wilcox followed by hitting four 3-pointers, his final one giving the Huskies a 20-18 lead.

The two teams traded the lead for the remainder of the half, with Washington hitting from the floor while the Cougars took care of business at the line, going 11 of 12, but only shot 27 percent in the first half while the Huskies shot 36 percent. The game was tied at 28-all at the break.

In the early stages of the second half, WSU scored baskets on three dunks and went on a 12-0 run to take a 45-32 lead.

The nearly 9,325 in Beasley Coliseum were loud and the Cougars seemed to have all the momentum.

But during that run the Cougars began to show weakness. First it was Brock Motum, who led the Cougars with 17 points, who stumbled, hitting a bucket but missing the ensuing free throw.

Abe Lodwick had a chance to put two more points on the board for WSU when he grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled on the put-back. Instead, he missed both free throws.

Ultimately, it came down to free throws. WSU finished the game 17 of 32 from the line, going 6 of 20 in the second half. The Huskies were only 2 of 5 in the first half, but finished 17 of 24.

"We made our free throws and they weren't as fortunate. That was probably the difference in the game," Romar said. "But it wouldn't have mattered when they were up 13. We were rolled over. Earlier in the year, that game turns into (a 20-point deficit) instead of us coming back."

Trailing by two with 13 seconds left in the game, WSU called a timeout. Patrick Simon entered the game for the first time and set up what could have been a game-winning scenario for the Cougars.

Simon found his way to the baseline and powered up a 3-pointer, but shot an airball. The Huskies were able to rip the rebound and Wilcox, who finished with 16 points, hit both free throws to seal the game.

The Cougars out-rebounded the Huskies 42-35.

Abdul Gaddy scored 10 points for Washington and Marcus Capers tallied 14 for WSU.