PULLMAN — Marcus Tsohonis scored a career-high 29 points, including a winning floater in the lane with 2.4 seconds left, and Washington edged rival Washington State 65-63 on Monday night in a game both teams were unexpectedly without their leading scorers.
It was an offensive struggle for both teams but a thrilling finish was set up when Jamal Bey only 1 of 2 free throws to give the Huskies a 63-61 lead with 15.5 seconds to go.
Washington State point guard Noah Williams took the inbounds pass and raced the length of the court, going down the lane for a layup with 10 seconds left to tie it at 63.
Without a timeout available, Tsohonis went the other way and drove into the lane, making a floater over Williams from just inside the foul line. Williams’ half-court heave at the buzzer went over the backboard.
Quade Green, who averages 15.3 points for the Huskies, was out with illness and Isaac Bonton, who scores 19 per game for the Cougars, couldn’t go after injuring his ankles late in their last game.
Erik Stevenson had 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for the Huskies (4-16, 3-13 Pac-12 Conference), who ended a five-game losing streak, which started with a 77-62 loss to WSU on Jan. 31.
Aljaz Kunc scored 11 of his 14 points in the second half, and Dishon Jackson added 13 for the Cougars (12-10, 5-10), who had won three-straight in the rivalry. Williams scored 12 points with seven rebounds and seven assists.
With UW starting 1 for 6 and WSU 0 for 6, it was 2-0 more than four minutes into the game. The Cougars rallied, scoring eight straight, to take a 21-20 lead but Washington put together a 13-0 run leading to a 36-26 advantage at the half as Tsohonis scored 16.
The lead was 14 after back-to-back Tsohonis baskets early in the second half before the Cougars went on a 17-1 run to get their second lead. Kunc, who shot 5 for 5 with two 3-pointers and two free throws, hit a jumper that made it 45-43 for the Cougars with 8:54 to go.
Both teams are at home on Thursday, Washington facing Stanford and Washington State meeting California.
