No. 4 Arizona shakes sluggish start, routs Washington 92-68

Updated Feb. 12, 2022 8:29 p.m. ET

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SEATTLE (AP) — Bennedict Mathurin scored 25 points, Azuolas Tubelis added 21 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 4 Arizona overcame a sluggish start to race past Washington for a convincing 92-68 victory on Saturday.

The Wildcats (22-2, 12-1 Pac-12) won their sixth straight, erasing an early 14-point deficit and dominating the final 30 minutes. Take away Washington’s opening punch and Arizona’s performance was another example of why the Wildcats could be dangerous come March.

Arizona locked down the Huskies — aside from Terrell Brown Jr., who had 29 points — and efficiently found ways to pick apart Washington’s defense.

The Wildcats shot 57% percent, and eight different players scored. Arizona didn’t need the 3-pointer, but still made eight of them. Dalen Terry added 12 points and Oumar Ballo scored 10 off the bench.

Brown made his first seven shots during Washington's hot start, but hit just two of his final 13 attempts. Emmitt Matthews Jr. and Nate Roberts both finished with 10 points for the Huskies (13-10, 8-5).

Having played last season at Arizona before transferring back to his hometown for his final season, Brown scored 16 points early as the Huskies took a 25-11 lead and had the arena rocking at the prospect of an upset. But just as quickly as Washington built its lead, it evaporated as Brown got no help at the offensive end.

Arizona outscored Washington 34-11 over the final 10½ minutes of the first half and the 14-point deficit was a 45-36 Wildcats lead at halftime.

The onslaught continued over the final 20 minutes. Arizona started the half on a 20-7 spurt and at one point late in the half Arizona had more dunks (seven) than Washington had made field goals (six).

BIG PICTURE

Arizona: Guard Kerr Kriisa left late in the second half in discomfort holding, his left hand/wrist. Kriisa had six points and five assists, and has been averaging 10.4 points a game this season.

Washington: The Huskies played their second straight game without starting guard Daejon Davis due to a shoulder injury suffered last week against Stanford. Davis started the first 21 games of the season and was averaging 7.8 points per game. Davis' absence was felt as Washington struggled to run its offense after the quick start.

UP NEXT

Arizona: Hosts Oregon State on Thursday.

Washington: At No. 21 USC on Thursday.

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More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

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Nate Roberts

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Washington Huskies

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