SEATTLE -- Quincy Pondexter had 30 points and 12 rebounds to lead Washington to a 81-75 victory over Arizona tonight at Hec Edmundson Pavilion, snapping the Wildcats’ four-game winning streak.
Pondexter and the Huskies proved too much for a UA team that suffered from foul trouble to center Derrick Williams and an off shooting night from guard Nic Wise.
Wise finished the game having shot 4 for 17 from the field, and totaled 12 points. Guard MoMo Jones led UA in scoring with 14 points.
Trailing by up to 10 points in the second half,,the Wildcats made a game of it in the final minutes. Kyle Fogg drove inside and picked up a foul with 9.7 seconds left, cutting Washington’s lead to 77-75 but Venoy Overton hit two free throws to give the Huskies all they needed.
After Wise missed a three-pointer on UA’s final possession, Pondexter hit a final pair of free throws for the final margin.
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The loss dropped Arizona to 12-10 overall and 6-4 in Pac-10 play entering a game Saturday at Washington State. The Huskies improved to 15-7 and 5-5, having gone 15-1 so far at home this season.
Wise hit a three-pointer to pull UA to within 71-68 with 1:55 left. Wise was shooting 3 of 15 from the field up to that point, having missed two close-in baskets on UA’s previous possession.
The Wildcats also received a break with 1:19 left when Venoy Overton fouled Fogg, sending Fogg to the line for a chance to pull the game within a point. Fogg made his first shot and missed the second, and UA rebounded -- but Wise missed an ensuing 12-footer.
On Washington’s next possession, Overton went in for a layup and picked up a foul by Solomon Hill, making both free throws to give Washington a four-point lead.
Fogg then returned for a driving lauyup to pull UA within 73-71 with 35 seconds left, and UA immediately fouled Overton, who made two more free throws for another four-point Husky lead. Later, Washington’s Scott Suggs made two free throws for a 77-72 lead before Fogg picked up his three-point play.
The Wildcats held a 37-31 lead at halftime but temporarily lost center Derrick Williams after just 18 seconds when Williams picked up his fourth foul. Williams did not return until 11:14 remained and fouled out less than two minutes later, with 9:36 remaining.
Williams finished the game with a season-low three points, having missed his only shot from the field and making 3 of 4 free throws. He had two rebounds in his eight total minutes played.
UA coach Sean Miller played both Kyryl Natyazhko and Alex Jacobson at center in Williams’ absence.
Washington guard Venoy Overton started the second half in place of Isaiah Thomas, then hit a three-pointer with 16:18 to go to give Washington its first lead of the second half, 43-42.
Washington went on to take a 57-50 lead when Quincy Pondexter picked up a UA turnover and slammed it in with 10 minutes left. The Huskies expanded their lead to 68-58 when Isaiah Thomas made a layup with eight minutes to go before the Wildcats tightened it up in the final minutes.
A fan was ejected with 11:15 after throwing a watter bottle from the west upper baseline section.
In the first half, Lavender hit three three-pointers to help Arizona take a 37-31 halftime lead after trailing for most of the first half.
Lavender’s total of nine points represented the most he has scored since Nov. 24 against Colorado in the Maui Invitational, when he had 16. He scored eight points on Jan. 28 against Stanford.
Lavender’s last three gave UA the 37-31 lead with 25 seconds left and Washington failed to score on its final possession of the half.
While Lavender led the Wildcats in first-half scoring, MoMo Jones added eight points off the bench for UA. Quincy Pondexter led Washington withn 15 points while also collecting five rebounds, four of them on the offensive end.
UA had two major issues in the first half: Struggles from guard Nic Wise and foul trouble to center Derrick Williams.
Williams picked up his third foul with 6:56 remaining and did not play the rest of the half. Wise finished the half shooting 0 for 5 with three turnovers and only one assist.
UA coach Sean Miller and UW coach Lorenzo Romar were both whistled for technical fouls with 7:53 remaining in the first half.
