TJ Bamba drove into the teeth of the Husky defense and ran into Braxton Meah. Rather than retreat or attempt to evade the 7-foot-1 center, the 6-5 Cougar guard jumped into his chest and drew a foul on an off-balance jumper.
It was that kind of night for both teams Thursday.
The Washington men’s basketball team seemingly threw a dozen bodies at Bamba and nothing worked as he led Washington State to a 93-84 victory and orchestrated a 36-point masterpiece that will long be remembered in the 294th meeting of this cross-state rivalry that dates back to 1910.
Bamba was brilliant in front of a sold-out crowd of 9,268 at Alaska Airlines Arena, while surpassing his previous high of 24 points and connecting on 13 of 20 field goals, including three three-pointers while draining all seven free throws.
It was the 16th-highest individual scoring output for a UW opponent in school history and the most since 2015.
The Huskies countered with a balanced offensive attack led by Keion Brooks Jr. (22 points) and Jamal Bey (17 points). Koren Johnson added 13 points, Keyon Menifield 11 and Meah had 10 for UW, which finished the regular season 16-15 and 8-12 in the Pac-12.
Washington is guaranteed either the No. 8 or 9 seed in next week’s Pac-12 tournament and will face Colorado (15-15, 7-12) or Stanford (13-17, 7-12) in the first round.
Washington State came out firing and drained four of its first six three-pointers to take a 19-3 lead after Justin Powell drilled a three with 13:56 left in the first half.
Over the next 8½ minutes, the Huskies climbed back in the game amid a 23-11 run that included a pair of three-pointers from freshman guard Johnson. The first long-range dagger from the corner banked fortuitously off the glass and his second perimeter shot cut UW’s deficit to 30-26.
The Cougars regained momentum and finished the first half with a 12-8 spurt to go up 42-34 at the break.
The Huskies trailed 44-40 early in the second half and things began spiraling out of control for them on the ensuing possession when Bamba drilled a three-pointer.
Minutes later, Bamba sank a nifty turnaround jumper that put WSU up 57-45.
Washington made one last push and narrowed the gap to 59-53 with 12:49 left. However, Bamba and the Cougars extended their lead back to double digits with 9:11 remaining and UW never got any closer at the end.
Mouhamad Gueye (15 points and 10 rebounds) capped the highlights with a highflying dunk over Meah in the final minutes.
DJ Rodman finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists while Andrej Jakimovski added 12 points and Powell 11 for WSU (16-15, 11-9).
NOTE:
— Washington Huskies Cole Bajema, Keion Brooks Jr., Anthony Iglesia, Kyle Luttinen and Langston Wilson participated in Senior Night celebrations before Thursday’s game.
— UW guards Noah Williams (knee) and PJ Fuller II (illness) missed their fourth and third straight game, respectively.