Terry Comes Through Again

Jason Terry and the Arizona Wildcats are making a habit of having things go their way in games decided in the final seconds.

Terry, the Pacific 10’s leading scorer, got six of his 25 points in the final 1:52 as No. 10-ranked Arizona State withstood a late Washington State comeback for an 81-79 victory on Saturday at Pullman, Wash.

Arizona, 16-4 overall and 8-3 in conference, won its sixth game by two points or fewer--with Terry scoring the decisive points three times.

“Jason Terry is the difference in every game,” Washington State Coach Kevin Eastman said. “He takes every big shot.”

Arizona led by 17 points with 11:56 left before Washington State (9-13, 3-8) battled back to tie the score, 73-73, on Kojo Mensah-Bonsu’s basket with 2:12 left.

Terry, who entered the game with a 21.4-point scoring average, responded with a jumper with 1:52 left, a fastbreak layin at 1:13 after a steal, and two free throws with 7.9 seconds that accounted for the decisive points.

Arizona has defeated Washington State in 28 consecutive games.

Washington 93, Arizona State 85--The Huskies (14-7, 7-4) shot 67.3% at Seattle to win for the seventh time in eight games. Arizona State (13-10, 5-6) had defeated Washington by 24 points in Tempe on Jan. 7.

Deon Luton made nine of 10 shots and led Washington with 27 points, while Todd MacCulloch was 10 for 11 and had 22 points.