Court Held by Olson After Win

It was supposed to have been a day to honor Arizona Coach Lute Olson, but the party was almost spoiled.

Fourth-ranked Arizona, which learned earlier that it will have to play without 7-foot-1 center Loren Woods for at least the rest of the regular season, nearly blew a 21-point lead Saturday but pulled away in the last 3 1/2 minutes to defeat Arizona State, 89-82, at Tucson.

Gilbert Arenas scored 29 points and Luke Walton had 23--career bests for the two freshmen--as the Wildcats, 24-4 overall and 13-1 in the Pacific 10, defeated the Sun Devils (16-10, 8-5) for the 10th consecutive time. Michael Wright had 16 points and 14 rebounds, including two crucial offensive rebounds in the final minutes.

With Woods, averaging 15.6 points and almost four blocked shots a game, sidelined because of a back injury and Richard Jefferson a week away from returning from a broken foot, the resilient young Wildcats came through again in a tough situation.

“We’ve had plenty of challenges, more than we need probably,” Olson said. “But I said all along that we have good people in this program and we have great competitors in this program. Somebody is ready to step in and do the job for us.”

Arizona State pulled within 73-70 with 3:27 to play, but Michael Wright converted two offensive rebounds into four points that gave Arizona some breathing room.

After the game, a ceremony was held to name the McKale Center playing surface Olson Court.

Olson has compiled a 419-124 record in 17 seasons at Arizona. At McKale, Olson’s teams are 257-26--including 29-5 against Arizona State. The Wildcats have won 28 consecutive Pac-10 games at home.

Olson said he would have preferred the honor came after his retirement, but Athletic Director Jim Livengood said that wasn’t an option.

“It will be a strange feeling,” Olson said, “but it’s much appreciated.”

Arizona State’s Eddie House made only three of 15 shots and was on the bench in foul trouble in the second half as the Sun Devils rallied from their big deficit. He finished with seven points, nearly 17 less than his Pacific 10-leading average.

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No. 1 Stanford 77, Washington 52-- Mark Madsen had 16 points and 20 rebounds to lead the Cardinal (24-1, 13-1) past the Huskies (9-18, 4-11) at Seattle.

Stanford, which leads the nation in field goal percentage defense, held Washington to 32% shooting. The Cardinal has won its last three games by a total of 113 points.

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Washington State 81, California 78--In his final home game, senior Chris Crosby scored 33 points as the Cougars (6-18, 1-14) handed the Bears (15-10, 6-8) a crucial overtime loss at Pullman, Wash.