Bennedict Mathurin’s 20 points leads No. 4 Arizona over Washington State
Feb 10, 2022, 9:40 PM | Updated: 9:43 pm
Washington State guard TJ Bamba (5) puts pressure on Arizona guard Bennedict Mathurin (0) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022, in Pullman, Wash. (AP Photo/Geoff Crimmins)
(AP Photo/Geoff Crimmins)
PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) — Bennedict Mathurin scored 20 points, Azuolas Tubelis added 15 and No. 4 Arizona pulled away in the second half for a 72-60 win over Washington State.
Arizona (21-2, 11-1 Pac-12) won its fifth straight and is off to its best start since the 2016-17 season. The Wildcats have won 16 of the last 17 against Washington State and used a big surge midway through the second half after the Cougars threatened.
Arizona shot 49% for the game, but had a key stretch making seven straight shots that saw a four-point lead balloon to 22 in a hurry. Mathurin had all 12 of his second-half points during Arizona’s decisive run.
Michael Flowers led the Cougars with 16 points, but shot just 7 of 19. Noah Williams came off the bench to score 10 points.
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Arizona led by as many as 17 in the first half thanks to an early 13-0 run. But it was Arizona’s second-half run that finally put away the Cougars.
Washington State shot 26.5% in the first half, missed all 12 of its 3-point attempts and trailed 33-20 at the break.
But the Cougars started knocking down some perimeter shots early in the second half and pulled within 39-35. T.J. Bamba missed a layup attempt in transition that would have trimmed the deficit to two, but instead became the start of Arizona’s big run.
Arizona made its next seven shots as part of a 15-4 run. Mathurin later added consecutive 3-pointers and his breakaway dunk with 7:51 left gave the Wildcats a 64-42 lead.
The Cougars (14-8, 7-4 Pac-12) came in as the conference leader in 3-point percentage, but finished 8-for-20.
KEY INJURIES
Washington State’s Mouhamed Gueye exited with 7:13 left after suffering a left ankle injury. The freshman finished with nine points and five rebounds.
BIG PICTURE
Arizona: For the Wildcats, the final stretch doesn’t feature a ranked opponent and it will include four of the last seven games on their home floor. They’ll be looking to secure the Pac-12 regular-season title and gain momentum heading into the conference tournament.
UP NEXT
Arizona visits Washington on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Washington State hosts Arizona State on Saturday at 8 p.m. on ESPN 620 AM / 98.7 FM HD-2.
