BACK ON THE PROWL

TUCSON—Prior to last night’s crucial contest against No. 6 Washington State, interim head coach Kevin O’Neill told his Arizona Wildcats that they would need to play a great game in order to take down one of the nation’s most disciplined squads.

The Wildcats (13-6, 3-3 Pac-10) responded by submitting one of their finest all-around efforts in three years.

Jerryd Bayless scored 23 points and shut down Washington State’s leading scorer Derrick Low to lead Arizona to a 76-64 win over the Cougars (16-2, 4-2).

"I wouldn’t trade Bayless for any player in the country," O’Neill said after the game. "I love his toughness and his leadership. He did it on both ends of the floor tonight."

Low came into the contest averaging 14.4 points per game, but Bayless’ pressure defense kept him scoreless for the first 37 minutes, 21 seconds.

Low finished with five points on 2-9 shooting.

Bayless’ intensity carried over to his teammates, as they consistently beat the Cougars to every loose ball and performed with discipline and efficiency on the offensive end.

Prior to last night’s game, Washington State opponents were shooting a paltry 39.8 percent from the floor. The Wildcats became only the second squad this season—UCLA being the other—to shoot better than 55 percent against coach Tony Bennett’s squad.

"O’Neill brought a much more physical team and mentally tough team compared to last year," Bennett said.

Chase Budinger added 22 points on 6-11 shooting, including four 3-pointers, with Kyle Weaver—one of the nation’s premiere man-to-man defenders—hounding him for most of the contest.

Last season, Weaver took Budinger completely out of his game with his length and quickness. This season, Budinger became the aggressor, taking the ball hard to the basket every chance he could.

"Weaver is a great defender, but I wanted to make him react to me instead of the other way around," Budinger said. "We executed our plays and knocked down shots. It’s pretty simple, really."

Jawann McClellan added 14 points in one of his finest offensive outings of the season. He was the only Wildcat to play all 40 minutes, and had the unenviable task of chasing Weaver around on defense all evening.

O’Neill was impressed by the senior’s effort, calling his play on both ends "exceptional."

"Glue guys tend to go unheralded, and it’s not quite fair," O’Neill said.

Jordan Hill didn’t have one of his most productive offensive nights, posting only four points with the Cougars constantly double teaming the lanky 6-foot-10 forward each time he caught the ball.

However, the traditionally foul-plagued Hill didn’t tally his first transgression until the 6:32 mark of the second half, allowing him to be aggressive on the defensive end.

He responded with 10 rebounds—nine defensively—and a career-high six blocked shots.

Washington State led throughout most of the first half, consistently victimizing the Wildcats on the same pick-and-roll play to bulky center Aron Baynes, who tied Weaver for the team lead with 15 points.

But Arizona made a handful of defensive adjustments and battled back to tie the game at 23 seven minutes before halftime.

Shortly after, Bayless would knock down a three—one of 12 for the Wildcats—and Arizona would never trail again.

The Wildcats would put the game away behind a barrage of open jump shots and an exemplary 20-23 performance at the free-throw line.

Arizona outscored the Cougars 42-33 in the second half.

"It was important for us to get out to a lead and hold onto it," O’Neill said. "Washington State is a terrific second-half team, and we knew they were going to make a run. I was impressed with how our team executed down the stretch."

With the win, Arizona moves to .500 in conference play and has its second win over a top-10 team, which will provide a big boost to the team’s tournament portfolio.

Next up for the Wildcats is a battle with the always-dangerous Washington Huskies, led by blue-collar post player Jon Brockman and coach Lorenzo Romar.

"Our effort against Washington State won’t matter if we fall flat against Washington," O’Neill said. "We’re going to have to come out with the same intensity level every game."

Tip-off against the Huskies is scheduled for 1 p.m. at McKale Center, with television coverage on Fox Sports Net.

nprevenas@gvnews.com | 547-9747

Game stats

ARIZONA 76, No. 6 WASHINGTON ST. 64

ARIZONA (13-6)

Budinger 6-11 6-7 22, Horne 0-0 0-0 0, Hill 2-3 0-0 4, Bayless 6-12 8-8 23, McClellan 4-7 5-6 14, Johnson 1-2 0-0 3, Dillon 0-0 0-0 0, Wise 3-5 1-2 10, Walters 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-40 20-23 76.

WASHINGTON ST. (16-2)

Harmeling 4-7 2-2 13, Baynes 6-13 3-4 15, Low 2-9 0-0 5, Rochestie 2-5 2-2 6, Weaver 6-10 1-2 15, Koprivica 2-4 1-2 6, Abercrombie 0-0 0-0 0, Cowgill 0-3 0-0 0, Forrest 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 24-53 9-12 64.

Halftime—Arizona 34-31. 3-Point Goals—Washington St. 7-17 (Harmeling 3-6, Weaver 2-2, Koprivica 1-2, Low 1-6, Rochestie 0-1), Arizona 12-21 (Budinger 4-7, Wise 3-4, Bayless 3-6, Johnson 1-2, McClellan 1-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Washington St. 23 (Baynes 6), Arizona 27 (Hill 10). Assists—Washington St. 16 (Rochestie 7), Arizona 17 (Bayless 6). Total Fouls—Washington St. 17, Arizona 15. A—14,598.