Washington guard Terrence Ross made his first career start for the Huskies / Drew McKenzie, Sportspress Northwest file

Washington 89, Washington State 87

Date: March 9, 2011

Venue: Staples Center

City: Los Angeles

Attendance: 12,191

LOS ANGELES – The Washington Huskies used a 57-point second half to come from eight down at intermission to pull out an 89-87 victory over rival Washington State in the quarterfinals of the Pac-10 Tournament. They did it while overcoming a 43-point performance by the Cougars Klay Thompson. Isaiah Thomas led the Huskies (21-10) with 21 points. Terrence Ross, in his first career start, had 17. The Huskies will face Oregon (15-16), which upset UCLA in the earlier game, 76-59. The Huskies trailed, 40-32 at halftime but 2½ minutes into the second half they took their first lead of the game. The Cougars pushed the lead back to eight again, before it was back-and-forth in the final minute. Thomas scored with nine seconds left to make it 88-85. Thompson then had a putback basket after a foul shot for an 88-87 score with four-tenths of a second remaining. WSU Coach Ken Bone called a timeout that he didn’t have. He was given a technical. C.J. Wilcox hit one. That was the end.

Star of the game
Isaiah Thomas Thomas had 21 points – 16 in the second half – and a tournament record 11 assists to lead the Husky comeback.

Play of the game
Thomas made a basket with nine seconds left, giving the Huskies a three-point lead, 88-85.

Misplay of the game
WSU Coach Ken Bone called a timeout when he had none left with four-tenths of a second remaining. That sent C.J. Wilcox to the line and he made one free throw for the final score. Cougars had no chance after that.

Highlights

• Isaiah Thomas Scored 16 of his team-high 21 points and had 11 assists for his fourth season double-double in his first ever 40-minute game.
• Terrence Ross Earned his first start of his career, tossing down 17 points in a career-high 29 minutes.
• C.J. Wilcox Poured in 13 of his 16 points in the second half – going 5-of-9 from three-point range, and finished with 16 points.
• Scott Suggs Had three points and three rebounds in 20 minutes.
• Justin Holiday Finished with a double-double, 12 points and 10 rebounds. He also had three assists in his 31 minutes.
• Matthew Bryan-Amaning Made seven of 11 shots and finished with 16 points and seven rebounds.
• Aziz N’Diaye Played 12 minutes and grabbed one rebound and had two points.
• Darnell Gant Had three points and three rebounds in 10 minutes.

Lowlights

• Venoy Overton Sat out the game while serving a suspension for being charged with distributing liquor to a minor.

Notable

• WSU’s Klay Thompson had 43 points, tying the second-most points scored against a Washington. The record is 45 by USC’s John Block in 1966.
• Klay Thompson’s 43 points is the fifth highest in Division I basketball this season.

Said

• “You know after you hit a couple shots, coach starts drawing up plays for you and you feel you have a responsibility to step up and knock down shots.’ – C.J. Wilcox, Huskies guard, after hitting 5 of 9 from three-point range and finishing with 17 points.
• “No question. I’m probably more of a feel guy anyway. When you sense that somebody is ready to break loose, you go with it.” – Lorenzo Romar, Washington coach, on why he started freshman Terrence Ross.

Injuries

• Justin Holiday Coming back from a concussion, he was given medical clearance in the morning before the game.

Numbers

• 21 – Three-pointer by the two teams combined, tying the Pac-10 Tournament record.
• 15 – Field goals made by WSU’s Klay Thompson, tying the tournament record set by UCLA’s Reggie Miller