Friday Morning Shootaround: Washington Knocks Off Arizona State in OT

Justin Dentmon hit a three to tie the game at 59 with 1:53 left in the game, then hit a runner on the Huskies next possession to take the lead. But after grabbing a defensive rebound with under 30 seconds left, Dentmon was stripped by James Harden in the backcourt, and Harden went in for a dunk that sent the game to OT. In OT, Jon Brockman was too much, scoring on the Huskies first two possessions. James Harden fouled out on the next possession, and U-Dub rolled to a win and a 1 1/2 game lead in the Pac-10.

The Huskies can control their own destiny in regards to winning an outright Pac-10 title. They have two games left - at home to Arizona and Washington State - and if they win them both, they win the Pac-10 regular season title.

Brockman had 21 points and 11 boards, but was out played by Jeff Pendergraph (24 and 13). Dentmon and Isaiah Thomas both struggled in the win, combining to go 7-27, 2 -13 from deep, for just 27 points.

The rest of Thursday's games:

• Michigan 87, Purdue 78: DeShawn Sims scored 29 points and Manny Harris added 27 and 8 boards as the Wolverines kept their tournament hopes alive. They have two games left, at Wisconsin and at Minnesota before the Big Ten tournament, and may very well need to win both to get in. But the important part is that they are still alive. Robbie Hummel's back looks to be feeling better as he went for 24 points, but Purdue drops to two games back of Michigan State.
• Illinois 52, Minnesota 41: Illinois, who may very well be the toughest defensive team in the country, held Minnesota to 8-28 shooting in the second half and didn't allow the Gophers to score over the final 6:21 as they moved into second place in the Big Ten. For the game, Minnesota shot 32%, just 1-14 from deep, and had 20 turnovers (they also only got to the line three times). Mike Davis led three guys in double figures with 14 points and 11 boards.
• Cincinnati 65, West Virginia 61: Freshman Yancy Gates had his second career double-double, going for 22 and 11 which included the clinching free throw with 3.1 seconds left, as Cinci spoiled Bob Huggins return to Cincinnati. It was a huge win for the Bearcats tournament hopes, as West Virginia is a team ranked very high (15) in the RPI. With three games left, including one at Syracuse, Cinci probably needs to go 2-1 to get in, which is very possible. The Bearcat win left a log jam in the middle of the league standings. Providence is sixth at 9-7 while WVU, Syracuse, and Cinci are tied for seventh at 8-7, with Notre Dame sitting in tenth at 7-8. In the BET this year, fifth-eighth get a first round bye.
• Miami 62, Virginia 55: Jack McClinton scored just 11, but he hit a big three with 47 seconds left to give Miami a five point lead as the Hurricanes kept their tourney hopes alive.
• Butler 78, Youngstown State 57: Matt Howard had 25 points and 10 boards as Butler clinched at least a share of the Horizon League title.
• Xavier 68, St. Joe's 54: Derrick Brown and BJ Raymond both scored 18 points, and Brown also added 10 boards, as the Musketeers ended a three game losing streak on the road.
• Memphis 71, UAB 60: Memphis was down 50-49 late in the game before going on a 22-10 run to close it out and keep their C-USA winning streak alive. Oh, and Tyreke Evans did this:
  
  
  
• Wake Forest 85, NC State 78: Wake nearly blew a 15 point lead, but James Johnson saved the Demon Deacons by going for career-highs of 28 points and 18 boards.
• Cal 81, USC 78 OT: Cal managed to stay tied for second in the Pac-10 on the strength on 29 points from Patrick Christopher. 8 of those came in OT. Cal blew a 61-51 lead in the last 6:56 of regulation.
  
• UCLA 76, Stanford 71: Josh Shipp went for 24 points, hitting 9-12 from the field, as UCLA overcame a 14 points first half deficit to remain tied for second place in the Pac-10.
  
• Gonzaga 81, Santa Clara 73: The 'Zags got 29 points for Josh Heytvelt, who outplayed SC's big man John Bryant, to help Gonzaga stay undefeated in the WCC. Gonzaga was helped out by two late tech's because fans were throwing trash onto the court.
• La Salle 70, Temple 63: The Owls dropped a game back of Xavier in the A-10.
• Washington State 69, Arizona 53: Taylor Rochestie led Wazzu with 17 points as Arizona lost their second straight game.
• Utah State 82, Hawaii 62
• St. Mary's 62, Pepperdine 49