Huskies hold off Oregon State, 76-70, in Pac-10 opener

The defending Pac-10 champion Washington Huskies began conference play on New Year's Eve with a 76-70 victory against Oregon State in front of 9,843 at Edmundson Pavilion

Quincy Pondexter led the 17th-ranked Huskies with a game-high 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Isaiah Thomas, who sprained his right ankle last Sunday and missed a couple of days of practice this week, added 19 points and Venoy Overton chipped in 13.

Coach Lorenzo Romar said the Huskies (10-2, 1-0 Pac-10) didn't make any definitive statements about their quest to repeat as conference champions with the victory.

"I don't think we can say that yet with it being a home game and a game that some think we should have won," Romar said. "Still it was good to see our composure. We can take some confidence from that."

The Huskies led by as many as 11 points (69-58) with 4:27 left in the second half and held on for the win as the Beavers made a late comeback attempt.

Oregon State cut UW's lead to three, 71-68, with 1:27 remaining and had a chance to tie, however, Overton forced Calvin Haynes into a turnover.

Pondexter lost the ball on the next possession and OSU had a great opportunity to slice into its deficit again when Seth Tarver led a one-man fast break against a backpedaling Thomas.

Tarver, however, missed a layup with less than a minute remaining.

Washington connected on five of six free throws in the final seconds to put the game away and extend its winning streak at home to 18 games.

The Beavers (6-6, 0-1) lost for the fifth consecutive time to the Huskies.

OSU center Roeland Schaftenaar scored a team-high 16 points, Haynes had 15 and Omari Johnson 10.

In a game of opposing styles, the Huskies pushed the tempo and made the Beavers play a quicker pace than they wanted. Both teams committed 17 turnovers, however, UW converted OSU's miscues into 20 points.

"I thought we gave it up with unforced turnovers," Oregon State coach Craig Robinson said. "This is a great team. They are a ranked team. They are defending champions and you can't have careless turnovers against a team like this."

Oregon State controlled the tempo early in the first half with its 1-3-1 zone and deliberate Princeton offense. The Beavers used a 9-0 run to take a 19-10 lead.

Momentum changed late in the first half when Overton poked the ball away from Haynes and looked as if he forced a turnover. Both players dove for the loose ball, Haynes retrieved it on the floor and stood up without being penalized for traveling.

The non-call ignited the sellout crowd and as well as UW's defense.

"My teammates were doing a good job of denying so that made it even tougher on the person that I was guarding because he didn't have anybody to pass it to," Overton said. "So I have to give credit to my teammates."

Seconds later, Overton drained an open three-pointer and the Huskies outscored the Beavers 10-4 in the final minutes to take a 43-33 lead into halftime.

Romar likened Overton, who had four steals, to a swarming bee.

"They way he is, he causes a reaction when he gets into the game because you know he's going to be around," Romar said. "His hands are everywhere. He is pretty physical. And he's so quick, sometimes you don't even know he's coming. He just comes out of nowhere."

The Huskies were short-handed because reserve guard Scott Suggs sat out while suffering from symptoms related to food poisoning. He's expected to return Saturday when UW hosts Oregon (7-5, 1-0).

Pondexter said the win should serve notice to the rest of the conference that the Huskies are still the team to beat.

"Everyone had a clean slate," he said. "Everyone has that goal to win the championship. No one is at the top. No one is at the bottom. Everyone is even. With them being a veteran team, they looked at it as a great opportunity to come up and dethrone us.

"And if we proved anything, it's that we're still a tough team to beat."

Percy Allen: 206-464-2278 or pallen@seattletimes.com

OREGON ST. 70
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Schaftenaar	27	5-11	5-7	1-7	2	2	16
Deane	15	1-2	0-0	0-1	1	2	2
JTarver	31	2-4	1-1	1-1	2	3	5
STarver	34	3-10	0-0	0-5	5	3	8
Haynes	33	6-13	2-4	0-2	0	2	15
Cunningham	9	0-0	0-0	2-3	0	4	0
Burton	13	3-4	2-4	1-3	0	3	8
Brandt	2	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0
Johnson	24	4-6	1-2	0-2	4	5	10
Wallace	12	2-5	2-2	0-0	0	0	6
	200	26-56	13-20	9-30	14	24	70

Percentages: FG .464, FT .650. Three-point goals: 5-16, .313 (S.Tarver 2-4, Johnson 1-2, Schaftenaar 1-3, Haynes 1-4, Brandt 0-1, Wallace 0-1, Deane 0-1). Team rebounds: 6. Blocked shots: 1 (J.Tarver). Turnovers: 17 (Haynes 4, Burton 4, Cunningham 3, S.Tarver 2, Johnson, Brandt, Schaftenaar, J.Tarver). Steals: 9 (Johnson 4, S.Tarver 3, Schaftenaar 2). Technical fouls: None.

WASHINGTON 76
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Bryn-Amning	29	2-5	4-4	3-5	0	3	8
Gant	16	2-4	1-2	1-2	0	1	5
Thomas	35	7-13	2-4	0-5	1	4	19
Gaddy	18	1-3	0-0	1-1	5	2	2
Pondexter	30	5-13	10-12	5-10	1	4	20
Overton	26	5-10	2-2	1-3	4	2	13
Holiday	17	1-5	0-0	2-4	1	2	2
Turner	18	1-4	2-2	1-4	0	0	5
Breshers	11	1-2	0-2	1-3	0	0	2
	200	25-59	21-28	17-40	12	18	76

Percentages: FG .424, FT .750. Three-point goals: 5-15, .333 (Thomas 3-6, Overton 1-3, Turner 1-3, Gaddy 0-1, Pondexter 0-2). Team rebounds: 3. Blocked shots: 4 (Breshers 2, Bryan-Amaning 2). Turnovers: 17 (Pondexter 4, Overton 4, Thomas 4, Gaddy 3, Turner, Gant). Steals: 8 (Overton 4, Bryan-Amaning, Thomas, Pondexter, Holiday). Technical fouls: None.

Oregon St.	33	37	—	70
Washington	43	33	—	76

Attendance: 9,843. Officials: Verne Harris, David Hall, Bill Kennedy.