LAS VEGAS — Scott Suggs scored 19 points, C.J. Wilcox added 11 and Washington held off a furious rally by rival Washington State for a 64-62 win in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament Wednesday night.
Washington (13-18) appeared to be headed toward a rout, but blew a 15-point lead with 81/2 minutes left.
The sixth-seeded Huskies went 8 minutes without a field goal as Washington State (17-15) scored 15 straight points to tie it. Desmond Simmons put Washington up by two with a tough shot inside with 1:16 remaining, and Washington State’s Brock Motum badly missed a 3-pointer while trying to draw a foul with 3 seconds left.
Abdul Gaddy had 11 assists for Washington, which moves on to face third-seeded Oregon in Thursday’s quarterfinals.
Motum had 28 points in what’s likely his final game for Washington State, and D.J. Shelton added 19.
Washington came into the tournament after a regular season filled with streaks.
The Huskies opened Pac-12 play with four straight wins, lost seven of eight, then closed the season 3-1. Washington finished tied for sixth in the conference 9-9 and was likely looking at a Pac-12 title as its only shot at making the NCAA tournament.
The Huskies fell flat at last year’s tournament, losing to Utah in the opening round to become the first team from a power conference to win the regular season title and not make the NCAA tournament.
Washington State went through a tough regular season, losing games to ranked teams like Kansas and Gonzaga. The Cougars did end the season on an uptick, beating then-No. 23 UCLA by 12 and completing the Southern California sweep by blowing out USC by 25.
