Henderson and Referee Thornley Had No Choice

With 2.1 seconds left and Washington down by a point, J.R. Henderson knew the ball was going to go to Todd MacCulloch, and Henderson knew he had to stop that from happening.

He also knew he might have to (subtly) grab the 7-foot, 280-pound Husky center to make sure he couldn’t get to the in-bounds pass.

“We knew exactly what they were going to do,” Henderson said. “They’d been lobbing and lobbing and pounding and pounding all game. There was a screen by the guard, Toby [Bailey]’s man, and I was prepared for it.

“I knew there was a chance they might get me for holding, so I closed my hand so they wouldn’t see that I was holding. Obviously, it didn’t work.”

Instead, referee Scott Thornley called a foul on Henderson before the ball could even been inbounded from under the basket.

“Once the ball was that close, I kind of knew something bad was going to happen,” Henderson said. MacCulloch, who made both free throws to give Washington the winning margin (and was seven for seven in the game), said the call was correct.

“No question,” MacCulloch said. “The refs are allowed to make calls in the final seconds. Some do, some don’t. They made the call, and I went to the line.”

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Bruin freshman point guard Baron Davis, who was warmly praised by Lavin because he never was in foul trouble last Thursday against Washington State, fouled out Sunday with 1:36 to play, his ninth disqualification this season.

Thursday, Arizona State at Pauley Pavilion: The Sun Devils had a surprisingly easy time over California on Saturday, preparing them for this make-or-break game against the Bruins, who also gave Washington a huge NCAA lift by losing to the Huskies on Sunday. This could be a high-scoring contest: UCLA has given up 120, 75, and 95 in its last three games, and Arizona State is averaging close to 85 points.