Washington men use big second half to blow out Washington State

Washington State freshman guard Reggie Moore intended to make a statement and quiet the sellout crowd at Edmundson Pavilion, but the end result wasn't what he anticipated.

Late in the first half of Washington's 92-64 victory, Moore, who starred at nearby Rainier Beach High and was recruited by the Huskies, intercepted a pass in the backcourt and ran to the rim where he flushed on Elston Turner for a highlight-worthy jam.

As he retreated downcourt, Moore hooted and howled at the UW bench.

Asked about the play that gave Washington State a 31-28 lead, Washington star Quincy Pondexter chuckled.

"Young freshman," he said, laughing. "Unless you're LeBron James I wouldn't advise that to add any more motivation to another team, especially at their home. It's something you learn as you get older.

"You live and learn."

For a half, the basketball version of the Apple Cup looked a lot like the football version as players engaged in frequent physical and verbal exchanges.

Pondexter and Xavier Thames, who made his third start of the season, were two of the combatants.

They pushed, shoved and drew technical fouls for scuffling late in the first half.

Just before halftime, Cougars forward James Watson knocked Pondexter to the court, unnoticed by the officials but in plain view of the 10,000 fans, who screamed their disapproval.

"We noticed," coach Lorenzo Romar said of WSU's taunting. Still, he didn't consider the Cougars brash or arrogant.

"I didn't see that at all," he said. "These guys were out here competing and they were letting us know, we're coming after you. And (we) had to fight back."

The Huskies, who trailed for most of the first half after falling behind 14-3, needed a spark.

"For the guy to come down and kind of level me a little bit, it really opened our team's eyes to what kind of game we were in," Pondexter said. "We realized we had to fight for each other, battle for each other."

Washington State led 40-36 at halftime, but momentum swung dramatically after the break.

The Cougars failed to score on nine of their first 10 possessions, and UW took a 48-41 lead.

The Cougars converted 6 of 10 three-pointers in the first half and shot 44.4 percent (12 of 27), but missed their first 13 field goals in the second half.

"We just knew that if we took the threes away, it was going to be a different game and that's what we did in the second half," said Venoy Overton, who finished with seven assists, six points, six rebounds and no turnovers. Washington built its lead to 70-50 with 8:09 remaining.

"That was a disaster, the second half," Cougars coach Ken Bone said. "Those last 20 minutes were a pretty frustrating experience."

With former UW great Brandon Roy watching, the Huskies held the Cougars to 22.9 percent shooting (8 of 35) in the second half and outscored them 56-24.

Pondexter finished with 29 points, two shy of his career high, and a game-high 12 rebounds. Isaiah Thomas, who missed the previous game with the stomach flu, scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half.

Thames led WSU with 15 points. Moore had 13 points and a season-high eight turnovers and Nikola Koprivica, who started for Klay Thompson, scored all 13 of his points in the first half.

Thompson, who was tied for the Pac-10 lead in scoring, began the game on the bench because he was late for a team bus Friday. He finished with seven points.

Washington and Washington State have identical overall and conference records at 14-7, 4-5 Pac-10.

"With the hole that we are in right now, every game is a must-win," Pondexter said.

The Huskies host the Arizona schools this week.

"We've strung together some pretty good performances here at home," Romar said. "We've got to continue next week and do this and then parlay that onto the road."