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UA continues winning streak over Cougars

By The Associated Press
Arizona Daily Wildcat
February 8, 1999
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letters@wildcat.arizona.edu


[Picture]

Associated Press
Arizona Daily Wildcat

Freshman Forward Richard Jefferson (44) blocks the shot of Washington State's Chris Crosby during the first half Saturday, at Washington State. Arizona won 81-79. The Wildcats beat the Cougars for the 28th straight time, the longest such streak in the Pac-10 that dates to 1986.


Associated Press

PULLMAN, Wash. - Credit Jason Terry in Arizona's latest narrow escape.

The senior guard scored 25 points, six over the final 1:52, as the 10th-ranked Wildcats overcame a late Washington State comeback bid to win 81-79 Saturday.

The Pacific 10 Conference scoring leader's play down the stretch gave Arizona its sixth win this season by two points or less.

''Jason Terry is the difference in every game,'' Washington State coach Kevin Eastman said. ''He's just very good. He takes every big shot.

''For sure, the ball is in his hands, and he's involved in every big play. He loves these types of games.''

The Wildcats (16-4 overall, 8-3 Pacific 10 Conference) beat the Cougars (9-13, 3-8) for the 28th straight time, the longest such streak in the Pac-10 and one that dates to 1986.

Arizona (16-4, 8-3 Pac-10)

         Min.   FG  3pt.  FT   R  PF  A  TO  S  Pts.
Wright    33   3-7  0-0  3-4  15   3  0   2  1    9
Wessel     8   1-1  0-0  0-0   0   1  0   1  0    2
Bramlett  31   6-9  0-0  4-6  10   1  0   2  2   16
Wilson    20   2-4  0-1  0-1   1   1  1   2  0    4
Terry     40  8-15  4-6  5-6   2   1  7   8  5   25
Douglas   20   3-5  0-1  5-5   2   1  0   2  0   11 
Anderson   6   1-3  1-1  0-0   2   1  0   2  0    3
Edgerson  19   2-4  0-0  1-4   6   2  0   1  0    5
Jefferson 23   2-7  0-0  2-2   4   4  2   2  0    6
TEAM                           2
TOTAL        28-55  5-9 20-28 44  15 10  22  8   81

Washington (9-13, 3-8 Pac-10)

            Min.   FG  3pt.  FT   R  PF  A  TO  S  Pts.
Bush         28   6-9  0-1  1-3   1   3  2   2  5   13
Mensah-Bonsu 39   8-19 0-0  5-7   7   3  1   5  2   21
Miller       30   7-12 0-0  3-4   9   4  1   1  2   17
Thomas       35   3-11 1-6  0-0   0   1  1   1  3    7
Kazadi       15    1-3 0-0  0-0   1   1  1   3  0    2
Pengelly     24    1-5 0-4  0-0   4   4  5   2  0    2
Crosby       20    5-7 5-6  2-2   2   1  2   0  0   17
Stewart       6    0-0 0-0  0-0   0   1  0   1  0    0
Slotemaker    3    0-2 0-1  0-0   0   0  0   0  0    0
TEAM                              4
TOTAL           31-68 6-18 11-16 28  18 13  15 12   79
Arizona, coming off a 90-84 loss at Washington on Thursday, led by 17 points with 11:56 to go before Washington State battled back to a 73-73 tie on Kojo Mensah-Bonsu's jumper with 2:12 remaining.

Terry responded with a jumper with 1:52 to go and a fast-break layin off his steal with 1:13 remaining.

Arizona increased its lead to 79-73 on Richard Jefferson's two free throws with 30 seconds left.

Mensah-Bonsu hit a jumper with 15 seconds to go and Chris Crosby added two free throws six seconds later.

Terry, who leads the Pac-10 in free throw accuracy, was fouled with 7.9 seconds left and made two for an 81-77 lead.

Washington State's Blake Pengelly closed out scoring with a jumper at the buzzer.

''It was obviously a game of runs,'' Wildcat head coach Lute Olson said. ''The good thing is we were able to hold off their last one.''

Arizona trailed 29-21 after 13 minutes of play but closed the half with a 15-0 run for a 42-36 lead.

The Wildcats opened the second half with an 18-7 run to take their biggest lead, 60-43. The Cougars came back on three 3-pointers by Crosby over a span of 1:06.

''When someone's firing 3s like Crosby was, that lead is going to go quickly if you aren't making layins,'' Olson said. ''We missed a lot of easy ones underneath.''

Terry, who entered the game averaging 21.4 points per game, finished 8-for-15 from the field, including 4-for-6 from 3-point range.

A.J. Bramlett had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Wildcats, while Ruben Douglas added 11 points.

Michael Wright added 15 rebounds for Arizona, which held a 44-28 advantage in that category.

Mensah-Bonsu scored eight of his 21 points over the final 4:40. Crosby added 17 points, 15 on 3-pointers, and Eddie Miller also had 17.

Jan-Michael Thomas, Washington State's leading scorer at 16.5, was held to seven points and was 1-for-6 on 3-point shooting.

The Wildcats won despite the Cougars' 22-15 turnover advantage. In the teams' Jan. 7 game at Tucson, Arizona won 98-87 after committing 30 turnovers, a team record during Olson's 16-year tenure as coach.

''We walked away with a disappointing loss today and despite the comeback there was no moral victory here,'' Eastman said. ''Arizona is a team you can come back on.''