SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) -- Gilbert Arenas let his play do the
talking.
The Arizona guard made all six of his 3-pointers and scored 22
points as the Wildcats beat Washington State
84-51 on Thursday night.
Arenas declined to speak with reporters after the game.
His teammates were also low key as the Wildcats posted their
31st straight victory over Washington State dating to 1986, and showed
why they were ranked No. 1 at the beginning of the season.
"This is what this team should have been doing all along,"
said center Loren Woods, who scored 17 points and grabbed 10
rebounds. "We ran the fastbreak and got out and played the
passing lanes.
"Gilbert is going to continue to have games like that," Woods
said.
Arizona (9-5, 2-1 Pacific-10; No. 20 ESPN/USA Today; No. 21 Associated Press), coming off a loss to No. 1 Stanford,
hit nine of 13 3-pointers and shot 54 percent in the game. Woods and
Michael Wright, who also scored 17 points, punished the Cougars
inside.
"That was as good of a performance as we have had in a while,"
said interim head coach Jim Rosborough, who has led the Wildcats
since Lute Olson took a leave of absence last month to care for his
wife Bobbi, who died last week after a bout with cancer.
Arizona is 2-3 under Rosborough, and 6-5 in its past 11 games.
Washington State (6-6, 0-3) lost its third consecutive game and hit a
season-low in points. The Cougars have failed to score at least 60
points in each of their Pac-10 losses.
"Sometimes they just might be trying too hard to get it done,"
coach Paul Graham said. "We showed some signs, but we still have a
long way to go."
Washington State took advantage of some poor early shooting by
Arizona to stay with the Wildcats, trailing 14-13 with 8:55 left in
the first half after Eddie Miller's long jumper.
But Arizona went on a 27-6 run, including four consecutive
3-pointers -- two each by Arenas and Jason Gardner -- to go ahead
41-19 at halftime. The Cougars never threatened after that.
"Young kids when things start going bad have a tendency to drop
their heads," Graham said. "You can't drop your head in this
game."
The Cougars were having trouble dropping their shots. They made
just 29 percent of their field goals in the game, including three of 21
from 3-point range.
Arenas had 13 points in the first half, and made all five of his
3-pointers in a nine-minute span around halftime to bury the
Cougars. He sat out much of the second half.
Mike Bush, the Cougars' leading scorer at 18 points a game, was
scoreless in the first half and finished with nine points.
Miller led Washington State with 12 points and eight rebounds.
It was Washington State's worst defeat ever in the Spokane Arena,
where they play several home games each season.
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Arizona Clubhouse
Washington State Clubhouse
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