No. 18 Arizona overpowers Washington for 99-67 win

“It’s also nice to see us get off to a good start in a game and build a lead in the first half and have them chase us most of the game because we’ve been playing from behind too much early in games”.

On Friday, the star Washington Huskies guard sat out of practice. Mark Tollefsen leads all scorers in the half with 10 points on 4-4 shooting.

Game notes: Arizona State and Washington. UW trainer Pat Jenkins worked tirelessly to get the thing game-ready by Saturday’s late afternoon tipoff here at Arizona State, at which point Andrews said the swelling had reduced to the size of a golf ball. Washington State has two top-caliber players in Ike Iroegbu and Josh Hawkinson but are searching for additional contributors, particularly on the offensive end.TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, Pac-12 NetworkABOUT WASHINGTON STATE (9-7, 1-3 Pac-12): Brett Boese made his first start of the season – and the second of his career – Thursday against Arizona State and freshman Robert Franks played a career-high 22 minutes in his first Pac-12 appearance, evidence that the Cougars still are searching for the right chemistry.

That’s not necessarily true of Iroegbu, who had 18 points on 7 of 11 from the floor and has averaged 23 points while shooting 62.1 percent and making 4 of 6 3-pointers in the consecutive losses. He played 4 1/2 seasons with the Kings and spent half of the 1997-98 season with Vancouver. Marquese Chriss and Noah Dickerson will have a tough assignment against Arizona’s front line of Ryan Anderson and Kaleb Tarczewski, but Dickerson should be confident after scoring a season-high 16 points against Washington State, while Chriss should be eager to bounce back after scoring a season-low two points against the Cougars.

This wasn’t that. The Huskies scored nine points before the Sun Devils’ first basket, and Andrews scored 10 points in the game’s first 5 minutes and 10 seconds. The 44 points were the most Arizona State had given up in the first half this season. Certainly a large part of his contribution is not statistically discernible (the proverbial “beyond the box score” player), but a player with his skill set and size at the collegiate level should be a better rebounder, plain and simple.

Kodi Justice had 17 points to lead the Sun Devils. The Cougars dug themselves out of a 15-point hole over a three-minute span to creep back within five. That’s what growing up is all about, and a team effort. “Some other guys hit some big shots for us”.

The Sun Devils made it interesting.

It looked like WSU might make a game of it early in the second half, as the Cougs scored the first 10 points and cut ASU’s lead to five. With the game against the Trojans tied at 101, Justin Simon fouled Elijah Stewart who made both of his free throws.

“That’s the moment I live for”, Andrews said. That means little after just three weeks of league play.

Despite some of their issues, the Huskies kept pace with Arizona.

The Ducks shot 55 percent for the game while the Utes connected on just 34 percent of their shots, though many came from close range. Our guys showed a lot of heart and character, again. Everybody was for everyone else, and it resulted in a victory.