Huskies move into first place

Bolstering his case for Pacific 10 Conference player-of-the-year consideration, Washington’s Justin Dentmon matched his career high with seven three-point baskets and scored 28 points, and the Huskies moved into first place in the conference with a 79-60 victory over Oregon State on Thursday night at Seattle.

Washington (18-6, 9-3 Pac-10) now leads UCLA by half a game in the conference standings with a showdown between the two schools set for next Thursday at Pauley Pavilion.

Fortunately for Washington, Dentmon’s performance and another solid effort off the bench from Venoy Overton (nine points, six assists) staved off the Beavers’ upset bid.

Calvin Haynes led Oregon State (10-13, 4-8) with 15 points, but the Beavers dropped their third game in a row after a four-game winning streak.

Washington State 67, Oregon 38: Freshman Klay Thompson scored 25 points, making five of six three-pointers at Pullman, Wash., as the Huskies handed the Ducks their 12th consecutive loss.

Taylor Rochestie had 16 points and Aron Baynes scored 11 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Cougars (13-11, 5-7).

Reserve Drew Wiley led Oregon (6-18, 0-12) with 10 points. The Ducks’ leading scorer, Tajuan Porter, was held to seven points and was scoreless in the first half.

Washington State shot 57% from the field, including nine of 13 from three-point range, to end a three-game losing streak. Oregon was held to 21% shooting and the Ducks’ 38 points were a season low, well below their previous low of 52 against Arizona on Jan. 8.