Washington State finishes strong, upsets No. 8 Arizona

Field Level Media|published: Sat 13th January, 20:34 2024

Jan 13, 2024; Pullman, Washington, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard Kylan Boswell (4) strips the ball away from Washington State Cougars guard Jabe Mullins (3) in the first half at Friel Court at Beasley Coliseum. credits: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

Isaac Jones had 24 points and 13 rebounds and Washington State made its final six shots to upset No. 8 Arizona 73-70 in a Pac-12 game on Saturday afternoon in Pullman, Wash.

The Cougars (12-5, 3-3 Pac-12) ended an 11-game home losing streak to the Wildcats by getting hot at just the right time. They had missed seven consecutive shots before that, allowing Arizona (12-4, 3-2) to rally from down 11.

Jones was 8 of 15 from the field and 8 of 10 from the line as Washington State made 17 of 21 free throws, including five of six in the final two minutes. Myles Rice added 18 points for the Cougars.

Arizona got 28 points from Caleb Love, who hit five 3-pointers but missed a potential game-tying 3 with six seconds left. Oumar Ballo added 11 points and 14 rebounds for the Wildcats, who shot a season-low 34.7 percent.

Washington State led 34-30 at the half and extended that to a 10-point lead a little more than four minutes into the second half.

A floater by Love got Arizona within 48-44 with 12:52 left, and his 3-pointer cut it to 50-49 with 10:51 to go. The Cougars were able to maintain at least a one-score edge until 5:03 left when, after Rice missed the front end of a one-and-one, Love drained his fourth triple to put Arizona up 57-55.

It was the Wildcats' first lead since 7-6.

The Cougars ended a five-minute field goal drought on Jones' drive to tie it with 4:36 left, the first of five straight makes for Washington State to build a 67-63 lead. Rice then hit a shot with 21.9 seconds to go to make it a four-point game, and Rice's two free throws with 11.9 seconds left forced Arizona to try a game-tying 3 at the end.

A 3-pointer by Love tied the game at 17 with 11:38 left, but Arizona would make only two field goals over the next seven minutes. A five-minute scoring drought, with the Wildcats missing 11 consecutive shots, allowed Washington State to build a 28-21 lead on Andrej Jakimovski's corner 3-pointer with 5:11 left in the half.

Arizona held the Cougars without a field goal for the final four-plus minutes of the first half to cut the deficit to four at the break.

The Wildcats return home to host USC on Wednesday while Washington State visits Stanford on Thursday.

—Field Level Media