Washington Gets Big Lift From Guards

Much of Washington’s offense this season was expected to revolve around its twin towers, 7-foot Todd MacCulloch and 7-foot-1 Patrick Femerling.

The Huskies, however, have increasingly relied on the scoring of guards Deon Luton and and Donald Watts in Pacific 10 Conference play.

Such was the case Saturday night at Corvallis, Ore., as Luton and Watts combined for 41 points to lead Washington to a 70-55 victory over Oregon State.

Luton had 22 points, making a 17-foot shot when Oregon State pulled within 54-48 with 6:30 left. The shot keyed an 11-4 run that put Washington, 11-3 overall and 4-1 in the Pacific 10, in control.

While Luton had the green light to take three-point shots, making four of 11, Watts drove to the basket and often drew fouls. Watts made 10 of 11 free throws en route to 19 points.

MacCulloch was also productive in scoring 18 points on seven-of-10 shooting, while Femerling had a game-high 10 rebounds.

Oregon State (9-8, 0-6) shot only 32.8% in losing its sixth consecutive game. Leading scorer Corey Benjamin had only 10 points, missing 10 of 14 shots. John-Blair Bickerstaff and Ron Grady were only other double-figure scorers for the Beavers, getting 11 points each.

Washington, by winning at Oregon and Oregon State, swept area Pacific 10 schools for the first time since 1987. The Huskies also have their best overall record after 14 games since 1984.

Oregon 71, Washington State 62--Terik Brown had 20 points and nine rebounds to lead the Ducks (7-8, 2-4) at Eugene, Ore.

Oregon had lost its previous four games, so Coach Ernie Kent changed his starting lineup, inserting freshman Flo Hartenstein and Yasir Rosemond, a sophomore transfer. Hartenstein had 12 rebounds while Rosemond made two three-point shots in the second half.

The Ducks led 35-26 at halftime and used a 13-2 run to take their biggest lead at 48-31.

Carlos Daniel had 17 points and 10 rebounds for Washington State (8-8, 1-4). The Cougars made only 12 of 25 free throws.