Huskies banish Arizona State, 90-82

Before last night's contest with Arizona State, Washington senior Will Conroy said that when Ike Diogu goes off for 30 points, he puts teams into big trouble.

Diogu ended up going for 31.

"And we were in big trouble," Conroy said after the game.

Even with senior guard Tre Simmons putting on a shooting gallery for the fans, posting 29 points thanks to a 6-for-7 effort from the 3-point line, the Huskies had a difficult time putting away an ASU squad that was eager for a marquee conference victory.

"They were like Joe Frazier," said UW coach Lorenzo Romar, referring to the former boxer. "Bam, bam, they just kept coming."

Washington hosts its final home game of the season Saturday against No. 9 Arizona at 1 p.m.

Despite holding a lead for the entire second half, the Huskies never held an advantage of more the 10 points. The Sun Devils closed Washington's second-half lead to as close as one, but the Huskies (22-4 overall, 12-3 Pac-10) squelched each of their runs, holding off the Sun Devils for a 90-82 victory.

Simmons opened the game by scoring his team's first eight points. After opening out a 24-18 lead midway through the first half, the Sun Devils (18-10, 7-9) went on an 11-0 spurt to take their first lead of the game. Robinson took the lead back, scoring 11 points of his own in a span of two minutes, leading the Huskies to a 44-41 halftime advantage.

In the second half, Simmons and Diogu swapped points. Simmons nailed four 3-pointers from the same spot on the right wing, while Diogu matched that effort by hitting 17 of his 18 free throws.

With 1:20 remaining in the contest, ASU's Kevin Kruger drained his fifth 3-pointer of the night to close the game back to 81-78. UW junior guard Nate Robinson responded on the offensive end by snatching an offensive board and put-back.

"That was a key play," ASU coach Rob Evans said. "That's blocking out, and details. I am always talking about taking care of details."

After Diogu matched the effort with a pair of free throws, Robinson responded again, driving down the right side of the lane, spinning and dropping in two points to stretch the lead to five with 46 seconds left on the clock.

Robinson would finish with a stellar line: 8-for-10 from the field, 21 points, three assists and four steals.

"They are a dangerous basketball team," Evans said. "Not just Tre Simmons -- they are all good players."

Simmons, who had been in a shooting slump as of late, came out for a brief period in the second half because of a tender hip that he had bruised during practice. For the second time this season, however, he finished just shy of the 30-point barrier and his six 3-pointers put him one shy of the UW record.

"He had just another amazing night for us," Romar said

And while Simmons came up just short on some point benchmarks, Conroy fell just short of a season-long record, finishing with seven assists, putting him two shy of breaking Chester Dorsey's season mark.