Pacific 10 Roundup : Arizona’s Trap Snares Stanford

Arizona scored 90 points, and did it with defense.

The fourth-ranked Wildcats’ trapping defense forced 24 Stanford turnovers, 15 in the first half, as Arizona rolled over the Cardinal, 90-65, in a Pacific 10 Conference game Saturday at Tucson.

“We came out trapping immediately after the first basket,” said Sean Elliott, who scored 19 points for Arizona (14-1 overall, 4-0 in the Pac-10). “We controlled the game from start to finish.”

Stanford committed seven turnovers in the first six minutes, fueling Arizona’s 8-0 game-opening spurt and an 11-2 burst that gave the Wildcats a 12-point lead.

Arizona’s Anthony Cook scored 12 of his 16 points in the first half as the Wildcats built a 44-24 lead.

“We knew if we played pressure defense, they’d turn the ball over a lot,” said Cook, who had three dunks after turnovers in the first half. “The rebounds weren’t coming my way, but the points were.”

Todd Lichti scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half for Stanford (10-5, 2-2).

Arizona State 82, California 60--Arthur Thomas scored 18 points, and the Sun Devils routed the Bears at Tempe, Ariz.

Joey Johnson added 14 points for Arizona State (10-3, 4-0) and Eric Holloway had 12.

Matt Beeuwsaert scored 18 points for Cal (4-8, 1-3) before fouling out with 9:18 left and Hartmut Ortmann added 16 points.

The Bears trailed, 37-26, at halftime and managed to stay close until early in the second half when Arizona State went on an 8-0 run to take a 54-40 lead with 11:37 remaining.

After two California baskets, the Sun Devils used a 21-6 spurt for a 75-50 lead with 4:20 left.

Washington State 70, Washington 63--David Sanders scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half, and the Cougars broke a four-game losing streak by downing the Huskies at Seattle.

Sanders and Harold Wright each hit two free throws in the final 29 seconds, enabling Washington State (4-6, 1-2) to halt a late rally by Washington (4-8, 0-3).

Eldridge Recasner and Mark West scored 15 points each and helped bring the Huskies back within five points from a 60-44 deficit with 5:22 left.