by SEATTLE (AP) — Jemarl Baker Jr. made his fourth 3-pointer with 42 seconds remaining to give Arizona the lead, and the Wildcats held off Washington for a 75-72 win on Thursday night.
Arizona closed the game on a 11-3 run, holding the Huskies to just one field goal over the final 6 1/2 minutes. Baker had nine of the 11 points during the run and finished with a game-high 17 points off the bench for the Wildcats.
Nico Mannion added 16 points and Stone Gettings had 13 as the Wildcats (14-6, 4-3 Pac-12) rebounded from last Saturday’s second-half collapse against rival Arizona State.
RaeQuan Battle (Tulalip Tribe) led Washington (12-10, 2-7) with 14 points off the bench and his 3-pointer with 1:42 remaining gave Washington a 72-70 lead. It was the Huskies only made basket during the closing stretch.
Nahziah Carter, Battle and Marcus Tsohonis all missed shots in the final minute with a chance to tie or give the Huskies the lead.
Carter finished with 13 points for Washington, which lost its fourth straight. Hameir Wright and Jaden McDaniels both added 12.
The anticipated matchup between freshman standouts Isaiah Stewart and Zeke Nnaji never materialized. Nnaji had early foul trouble and played just 26 minutes, finishing with nine points and eight rebounds.
Stewart struggled to one of his worst games of the season, finishing with nine points on 3-of-13 shooting. He grabbed 11 rebounds.
Washington trailed by as many as 10 in the first half, but opened the second half on an 14-3 run. The Huskies took a 57-48 lead on McDaniels’ baseline dunk, but he was called for a technical foul after the play, his fifth of the season.
Arizona scored the next seven points after the technical and outscored Washington 27-15 the rest of the way.
