Arizona cruises to a 66-49 victory over Washington State
PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) — Stone Gettings hadn’t felt this good on the basketball court since his days playing at Cornell.
The senior, who averages 5.6 points per game, put up 19 points on 8 of 13 shooting and had his first double-double of the season to lead Arizona to a 66-49 victory over Washington State Saturday night.
“I felt it a little bit at Washington and a little bit at the Red vs. Blue game, but it wasn’t since my Cornell days that I felt this good,” Gettings said, who played three seasons at the Ivy League school before transferring to Arizona. “It has been nice.”
Nico Mannion added 14 points and had two steals for Arizona (15-6, 5-3 Pac-12). Zeke Nnaji contributed 10 points and 10 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season and seventh in the last 10 games.
It was the eighth consecutive win for Arizona in Pullman, avenges last season's 69-55 home loss to the Cougars, and is the Wildcats' first Pac-12 road sweep in more than a year.
“It feels good,” Arizona coach Sean Miller said. “We were a terrible team last year. You don’t get any road sweeps if you aren’t good. Hopefully we have at least one more left in us.”
After jumping out to an early lead, Washington State (13-10, 4-6) struggled with the length and athleticism of the Wildcats. The Cougars were outrebounded 49-36 and shot just 37% from the field, including 3 of 18 from beyond the arc. Washington State had shot over 40% from 3-point range in its five previous games.
CJ Elleby, who put up a career-high 27 points and a last second 3 to beat Arizona State on Wednesday, was held to seven points on 2-of-12 shooting. Isaac Bonton had 15 points to lead the Cougars.
“Hat tip to them. I thought they guarded us really well,” WSU coach Kyle Smith said. “Their switching and length bothered us. We were up 15-8. We guarded well. But we hit a couple tough ones and when they tightened up the D we didn’t see the ball go in the basket and we hung our heads a little bit and that can happen.
It took a little zip out of us.”
Washington State went on a 9-0 run midway through the first half for a 13-6 lead. After that the Cougars went cold and Arizona heated up. The Wildcats had a 20-4 run that was highlighted by a breakaway dunk from Mannion. Washington State was held scoreless for six and half minutes during the stretch and trailed 32-23 at the break.
Arizona slowly pulled away in the second as the Cougars couldn't get a stop when they needed one. The Wildcats outscored Washington State 34-26 in the second half.
“You can’t panic. You just have to keep learning and improving and these two games are a function of our team staying with it and that is the most satisfying part for me,” Miller said. “We have fought through some difficulty and hopefully our best basketball is in front of us.
BIG PICTURE
Arizona: Despite having a less than stellar shooting night, the Wildcats were comfortably in control for most of the game to complete their first road sweep in more than a year.
Washington State: After an impressive victory against Arizona State, the Cougars went cold midway through the first half and couldn't hang with the Wildcats, one of the best offensive teams in the country. This is their second Pac-12 home loss of the season.
UP NEXT
Arizona: The Wildcats host Southern California on Thursday.
Washington State: The Cougars host Washington on Feb. 9.
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