TEMPE, Ariz. — Warren Washington scored 16 of his 18 points in the first half and the Arizona State men’s basketball team turned back Washington State 77-71 on Thursday night.
Washington knocked down 9 of 10 shots from the floor and added four assists for the Sun Devils (12-3, 3-1 Pac-12). DJ Horne finished with 12 points but missed all six of his three-point tries. Desmond Cambridge Jr. scored 13, leaving him five points shy of 2,000 for his career.
Washington sank all eight of his first-half shots, scoring 16 points to lead the Sun Devils to a 42-36 lead at intermission.
Cambridge hit a three-pointer with 6:21 left to play and Arizona State led 69-58. Washington State answered with a DJ Rodman layup and back-to-back three-pointers by Jabe Mullins to get to 69-66 with 4:18 remaining.
Mullins missed his next two three-pointers with a chance to tie, and Devan Cambridge and Horne hit back-to-back jumpers before a dunk by Washington to push the ASU lead to 75-66 with 1:32 to go.
Mullins finished with five three-pointers and topped the Cougars (6-10, 1-4) with 19 points. Rodman pitched in with 16 points and 12 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Justin Powell scored 10.
The Sun Devils shot 55% overall but just 29% from beyond the arc (5 of 17). The Cougars shot 43% from the floor and made 11 of 32 from distance (34%).
Arizona State earned a measure of revenge after WSU came to Tempe last season and held the Sun Devils to 10 points at halftime in a 51-29 victory.
UCLA downs USC
LOS ANGELES — Jaylen Clark scored 15 points and the No. 10 UCLA men blew an 18-point lead in the second half before rallying to beat crosstown rival USC 60-58 for the Bruins’ 11th straight victory.
Boogie Ellis missed a potential tying jumper that would have forced overtime and Adem Bona grabbed the rebound to seal the win and keep UCLA undefeated at Pauley Pavilion with a 9-0 mark.
The Bruins (14-2, 5-0 Pac-12) are on their longest winning streak since 2016-17.
Reese Dixon-Waters scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half to lead the Trojans (11-5, 3-2). Their leading scorers, Ellis and Drew Peterson, had off-nights, with Peterson in foul trouble.
The Bruins continue on a winning streak that began after losses to ranked Illinois and Baylor in Las Vegas in November. They have seemingly bought into coach Mick Cronin’s hard-nosed defensive style.
Colorado routs Oregon
BOULDER, Colo. — Tristan da Silva scored a career-high 30 points and the short-handed Colorado men rolled to a 68-41 victory over Oregon.
Colorado (10-6, 2-3 Pac-12), coming off an 80-76 loss to struggling California, got its sixth win in seven games after holding Oregon to 26.9% shooting and just three assists.
Da Silva had 15 points in each half and finished 11 of 17 from the floor. Julian Hammond III added 16 points and Nique Clifford had 13. Da Silva and Hammond combined for six of the Buffaloes’ seven three-pointers.
Quincy Guerrier scored 10 points for Oregon (8-7, 2-2), which missed its first 13 three-pointers before making one with 3:29 left. The Ducks were 12 of 21 from the free-throw line.
Texas fires Beard
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas fired men’s coach Chris Beard, telling his attorney he is “unfit” for the position while he faces a felony domestic family violence charge stemming from a Dec. 12 incident involving his fiancée.
Beard had five years left on a seven-year guaranteed contract that included a provision he could be fired for cause if he was charged with a felony or committed other behavior unbecoming of his position or that reflected poorly on the university.
The charge of assault by strangulation/suffocation family violence carries a possible prison sentence of two to 10 years if convicted; the woman told police Beard strangled and bit her, but later denied he choked her.
Elsewhere
• Fletcher Loyer made a go-ahead three-pointer with 11 seconds left and No. 1 Purdue (14-1, 3-1 Big Ten) bounced back from its first loss of the season with a 71-69 victory over No. 24 and host Ohio State (10-4, 2-1).
• Jarace Walker tied his season high with 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Marcus Sasser added 14 points and a career-high-tying seven assists and No. 2 Houston (15-1, 3-0 American Athletic Conference) secured an 87-53 win over visiting SMU (6-9, 1-1).