Arizona solves problems and wins

Arizona had been looking for an inside presence and its once-reliable shooting touch. The No. 20 Wildcats found both in an 84-54 victory over Washington on Saturday at Tucson.

“This was critical we played a game like this,” Arizona Coach Lute Olson said.

Jordan Hill provided the big body inside by leading the Wildcats (15-7 overall, 6-5 in the Pacific 10 Conference) with 16 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots.

Meanwhile, Arizona shot 57% from the field to avoid its first three-game home losing streak since 1983-84. The Wildcats had shot only 42% since beating Washington, 96-87, on Jan. 4.

The Wildcats, who shot only 22% from three-point range in their previous eight games, made five of 12 (42.6%) three-point attempts against the Huskies (14-8, 4-7).

“We saw firsthand earlier in the year their ability to shoot,” Washington Coach Lorenzo Romar said. “They have just been going through a slump. Our plan was to keep them from getting open looks early, and we didn’t do a good job of that.”

Arizona played as if it desperately needed a victory. The Wildcats had lost six of eight games, their worst prolonged stretch since Olson’s first season in Tucson, 1983-84.

Looking to shake up his team, Olson started Hill in place of slumping guard Jawann McClellan. It paid off when McClellan came off the bench for the first time this season to score 15 points.

McClellan rediscovered his shooting stroke by scoring 10 of his points during a 20-4 run that gave Arizona a 37-20 lead with 4:05 left in the first half.

“We need some kind of a spark off the bench and Jawann did that, and he is happy doing that,” said Olson, who figures to keep McClellan in a reserve role when the Wildcats visit Oregon State and Oregon this week. “He knows he is an emotional guy who can get other people going.”

No. 18 Washington State 48, Arizona State 47 -- The Cougars (19-4, 8-3) blew a 16-point second-half lead before completing their first road sweep of Arizona and Arizona State since 1981-82.

The Cougars escaped the upset when Sun Devils guard Christian Polk’s three-point shot rimmed out at the buzzer.

Robbie Cowgill’s running five-footer broke a 44-44 tie with two minutes left, and Derrick Low made two free throws with 15 seconds left to give the Cougars a 48-44 lead.

Jeff Pendergraph scored 18 points for Arizona State (6-16, 0-11), which set a school record with its 12th consecutive loss.

No. 23 Stanford 90, California 71 -- The win at Berkeley avenged a four-point loss at Maples Pavilion last month, when the Golden Bears (12-10, 4-6) ended a 13-game losing streak on Stanford’s home court.

Stanford (15-6, 7-3) salvaged a split for the week after losing to Gonzaga, 90-86, in double overtime Wednesday night in the Cardinal’s first regular-season game as a member of the Associated Press top 25 since ending the 2003-04 season ranked No. 1.

Brook Lopez, coming off a career-high 20 points against Gonzaga, had 19 points and seven rebounds, and Lawrence Hill scored seven straight points during one second-half stretch on the way to 24 points.