The Morning Dish – Friday, February 25th
Arizona Escapes Wazzou with a Victory:
Arizona narrowly escaped the embarrassment of being swept by Washington State with a narrow 57-56 overtime victory in Pullman Thursday night. Ivan Radenovic hit two free throws with nine seconds remaining to provide the winning margin. Radenovic also rebounded Derrick Low’s three-point attempt that rimmed out to secure the victory. Arizona’s seventh straight win was also it’s 19th straight at Washington State. The Cougars ended a 38-game losing streak to Arizona in January. Channing Frye paced the Wildcats with 26 points and seven rebounds. Thomas Kelati led the Cougars with 16. The win was Lute Olson’s 304th Pac-10 victory, tying him for first all time with John Wooden.
Huskies Keep Pace with Arizona, Set Up Saturday Showdown:
Washington escaped a valiant effort from Arizona State and captured an important 90-82 victory over the Sun Devils in Seattle Thursday night. UW led throughout the second half but wasn’t able to put ASU away until less than a minute remained. Washington was able to nearly match Ike Diogu’s 31 points and 15 rebounds with a 29-point effort from Tre Simmons. Simmons connected on 6-of-7 three-point shots. Nate Robinson had 21 for the Huskies. Kevin Kruger supported Diogu’s 29 for the Devils by finishing with 17, including hitting 5-of-9 from beyond the arc. Diogu scored most of his points at the line, draining 17-of-18. Washington’s victory sets up a showdown for first place in the Pac-10 Saturday. An Arizona victory would give the Wildcats the conference title, while a UW win would place the Huskies a half game behind Arizona for first in the conference.
Michigan State Ends Dubious Streaks:
Michigan State ended a pair of losing streaks with a 77-64 victory over Wisconsin Thursday night. The Spartans had lost 12 straight to ranked opponents and six in a row to the Badgers. Alan Anderson finished with a career-high 28 points on 10-of-10 shooting from the floor and 7-of-7 from the foul line. Michigan State has won 10 of 11 since losing to Wisconsin in January and has won its last nine games by double digits. Alando Tucker led Wisconsin with 18 points.
Gonzaga Clinches WCC Regular Season Title:
Adam Morrison had 22 points and Ronny Turiaf had 14 points and 11 rebounds as Gonzaga won its ninth in a row 84-68 at Portland to clinch its ninth West Coast Conference title in the last 12 years. The Zags raced to a 38-25 halftime lead and were never really threatened in the second half. David Cooper led Portland with 20 points. Cooper played the entire game with a dislocated right shoulder. Next up for Gonzaga is a non-conference game with Northern Colorado and then the WCC tournament. The bulldogs will have a first-round bye. The tournament starts March 4 in Santa Clara, Calif.
Cincinnati Defeats Marquette Without Diener:
Playing in its first game without star point guard Travis Diener, Marquette struggled from the field and lost at Cincinnati 80-68. Diener broke his hand in practice Tuesday and is lost for the remainder of the year. Steve Novak led the Golden Eagles with 25 points, including 7-of-12 from three-point range. Dameon Mason took Diener’s spot in the starting lineup and finished with 17 points. Cincinnati was able to use its strength inside to control the game from the outset. The Bearcats raced to a 39-21 halftime lead and cruised home in the second half. Eric Hicks had 17 points and nine rebounds and Jason Maxiell finished with 14 and 10.
Dockery Sidelined with MCL Tear:
Duke point guard Sean Dockery will be sidelined indefinitely with an MCL tear. The junior from Chicago has started 19 of Duke’s 24 games and was averaging 6.5 points per game and was second with 42 steals and third with 56 assists. Dockery suffered the injury in the Blue Devils’ 60-56 victory at Georgia Tech Wednesday.
Valley City State’s Klabo Charged with Assault:
Valley City State’s Matt Klabo is going to be charged with assault for throwing an elbow against South Dakota School of the Mines Korey Kirschenmann. Pennington County, S.D., attorney Glenn Brenner decided to charge Klabo after viewing a tape of Tech’s 83-65 victory. Brenner said this is the first time he will file charges as a result of an athletic contest. Kirschenmann fell to the floor after receiving the elbow and suffered a gash above his eye and a concussion. Klabo received a flagrant foul and was ejected.
Kansas Seniors Impose Gag Order Until After OK St. Game:
Kansas’ first three-game losing streak in 11 years has led KU’s seniors to declare the Jayhawk players off limits to the media until after the team’s game against Oklahoma State Saturday. The Jayhawks losing streak has occurred after winning its first 10 Big XII games this season. KU coach Bill Self said the players concluded that they wanted to concentrate on the game that could decide the Big XII Championship. After losing to Nebraska on Tuesday, the Cowboys are tied with Kansas atop the conference standings.
Connecticut Governor Wants Closer Scrutiny of Nike Deals:
Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell has asked the state’s Ethics Commission and the University of Connecticut Board of Trustees to determine if laws prohibiting state employees from using public office for private gain should be clarified. Rell specifically was interested in the endorsement deals received by UConn Basketball coaches Jim Calhoun and Geno Auriemma. Rell’s spokesman, Dennis Schain, said the governor wasn’t criticizing the Nike deals but that the commission should take a closer look at how ethics rules are applied. In the past, the ethics commission has permitted the contracts between Nike and the two high profile Basketball coaches at UConn.
Utah’s Markson Out Definitely With Sprained Knee:
Utah junior forward Bryant Markson is out for at least Saturday’s game with BYU after spraining his right knee in Monday’s loss against New Mexico. The 6-6 Markson has helped the Utes to a 23-4 record by averaging 10.3 points per game and 4.0 rebounds per game. He is also shooting 34.6 percent from three-point range and 55 percent from the field. The injury occurred after Markson collided with the Lobos’ Mark Walters. Markson left the game with 12:14 left and did not return. Richard Chaney or Jonas Langvad is likely to replace Markson in the starting lineup.
