Huskies eclipse Sun Devils

Washington coach Lorenzo Romar didn't even blink.

With 15 minutes remaining in yesterday's game at Arizona State, the UW coach was given a technical foul for his outburst in front of officials. Upon seeing the referee intersect his hands in the shape of a "T," Romar didn't flinch, but hushed into an almost content silence.

At the time, the Sun Devils were threatening to break through the Huskies' lead. ASU did break the lead, thanks in part to the technical, at 43-41 when Tyrone Jackson hit a 3-pointer from the left baseline.

Romar's rampage, however, seemed to ignite the Huskies, as the team countered the ASU threat with an 11-0 run, led by six points from junior forward Jamaal Williams.

"Every good coach knows what they're doing," senior guard Will Conroy said. "Coach was definitely under control. He knew what he was doing. He was trying to get a spark, and that's what he did."

From that point, No. 10 Washington refused to relinquish the lead, holding off the Sun Devils for a 79-70 victory.

The victory puts the Huskies back into a tie for the conference lead with Arizona, which was upset by Washington State Saturday.

Washington (17-3 overall, 7-2 Pac-10) was paced by junior guard Nate Robinson, who posted 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including 18 points in the second half to help the Huskies pull away. Senior swingman Tre Simmons added 15 points.

The Huskies also shot 22-for-25, or 88 percent, from the free-throw line down the stretch, something the Wildcats did in its victory over the Huskies last Thursday. While Arizona went 38-of-40 from the line, the Sun Devils (15-6, 4-5) made it to the stripe 14 times and hit only nine.

"It's tough to beat someone when you put them on the line 40 times and they make 38 of them," Conroy said. "That is something we did a better job of tonight, and it resulted in a better outcome."

For the most part, Washington managed to contain Arizona State's Ike Diogu, who has a personal lease on the property around the basket. Diogu entered the game leading the Pac-10 with 21.6 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. Against the Huskies, Diogu only managed 14 points while giving up four turnovers.

The Huskies also managed to hold down 6-foot-8 forward Serge Angounou, who had scored 38 points and snatched 20 rebounds in ASU's previous two games. Angounou only managed four points yesterday.

Still, with another off-night on the offensive end, where the Huskies shot only 5-for-23 from the 3-point line, the Sun Devils managed to keep the game close. Close enough to give the coaches fits.

"Every time we play Arizona State, the game turns into a dog fight," Conroy said. "We just made sure we came out on top of the fight."

Washington returns to action Thursday to battle USC in Seattle.