SEATTLE — The game of the year in the Pacific-10 Conference just didn’t want to end.
Not with Washington and Arizona State locked in a battle for the league lead. Not with the Huskies and Sun Devils trading big baskets and tense moments.
Ultimately, the Huskies held on for a 73-70 overtime victory, their first overtime win since the 2005 Pac-10 tournament.
Now, more than ever, a regular-season conference title is there for the taking for Washington. With just two conference games remaining, the Huskies need only to hold serve at home against Arizona Saturday and Washington State next week to win their first outright Pac-10 title since 1953. Even a split in those two games would give the Huskies at least a share of the title.
“It’s so close we can taste it,” said junior forward Quincy Pondexter, who had 10 points and a team-high 12 rebounds. “But the next two games aren’t going to be easy at all, so we’ve got to keep fighting.”
With the inside track to the Pac-10 title hanging in the balance, there was no way either team was going to go down without a fight Thursday night.
When Washington jumped to a big lead early, Arizona State countered with a run of its own to stay in the game.
When the Huskies started to extend their lead early in the second half, the Sun Devils fought back again and quickly turned an eight-point UW lead into a one-possession game. And when the Sun Devils went on a run of their own late in the second half, Washington answered back to tie it in the final minutes.
The conference’s biggest game of the season e didn’t disappoint, and the Huskies didn’t disappoint the sold-out crowd at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.
Washington took the lead early in the overtime period by feeding Jon Brockman, who scored layups on Washington’s first two possessions. Brockman, who was held to 10 points against ASU in Tempe, scored a team-high 21 points and had 11 rebounds. From there, the Huskies got it done with defense and free-throw shooting, making eight of 10 free throws down the stretch to clinch it. Justin Dentmon made six free throws for Washington in overtime
The Huskies led for most of the game, but ASU, after falling behind by eight early in the second half, eventually rallied to take a one-point lead at the 5:50 mark. It was the Sun Devils’ first lead since they were ahead 2-0 at the start of the game. Washington eventually tied the score at 59 with 1:50 remaining on a Justin Dentmon 3-pointer — his first of the game after an 0 for 8 start. The Huskies took the lead a minute later when Dentmon hit a runner in the lane just before the shot clock expired.
James Harden missed on Arizona State’s attempt to tie, but he got a steal after his miss, stripping Dentmon, then dunked to tie the score with 13.7 seconds to play. Dentmon had the ball in his hands as time wound down, but lost control of the ball as he attempted to drive.
That final stretch summed up a strange night for Dentmon, who struggled most of the game, but still finished with 16 points, including six in overtime.
“I tried to get in a rhythm and get in a rhythm, but it just wasn’t falling for me,” said Denmton, who was 4-for-14 from the field.
But even on an off-shooting night, the senior guard didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger when he had a chance to tie it in regulation.
“No hesitation at all,” he said. “Shooters keep shooting, so I shot it again. I was open.”
Washington looked like it might run away with the game early, jumping to a 13-point lead thanks to a 12-1 run. But after Washington took that lead at the 12:45 mark of the first half, Harden hit a runner to end a three-minute field goal drought, and ASU slowly chipped away from there. Harden took over late in the half, and by the time the intermission rolled around, he had 15 points and five rebounds.
Those 15 points matched Harden’s total when the two teams met in Tempe, Ariz., last month. Much was made of Washington’s defense against Harden after the first meeting, but, in the first half anyway, he would not be denied. Harden was less effective in the second half, but still finished with 19 points before fouling out in overtime.
Jeff Pedergraph led the Sun Devils with 24 points and 13 rebounds.
Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more on UW sports, check out the Huskies blog at heraldnet.com/huskiesblog
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