The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
46°F
Current Conditions
Clear sky
View complete weather report

Color Scheme

Subscribe now

Huskies zero in on crown

Washington's Will Conroy, right, defends against California's Richard Midgley in the first half Thursday. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Associated Press
Washington's Will Conroy, right, defends against California's Richard Midgley in the first half Thursday. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

BERKELEY, Calif. – Bobby Jones scored 22 points and No. 10 Washington made a school-record 16 3-pointers to beat California 106-73 on Thursday night and move within one victory of at least a share of its first Pacific-10 Conference title in 20 years.

Jones was 5 of 6 from long range and the Huskies surpassed the previous school record of 14 set Jan. 29, 1998, at Southern California. It’s the most 3-pointers made in the conference this season, and UCLA is the only team to hit 14.

Nate Robinson added 21 points with five 3s, and Tre Simmons had 20 points with four 3s, four rebounds and three assists for the Huskies (24-4, 14-3 Pac-10), who will earn at least a share of their first Pac-10 title since tying with USC in 1985 with a win at Stanford on Saturday.

Will Conroy, who already had set the Washington single-season assists record, broke Chester Dorsey’s school career assists mark of 466 set from 1974-77. Conroy finished with a career-high 14 assists, giving him 180 for the season and 476 for his career.

The Huskies made 11 of 17 3-pointers before halftime to build a big lead and shot 51 percent from the field for the game – 55 percent from 3-point range. With Washington ahead 70-45 in the second half, fans could be heard yelling for Huskies coach Lorenzo Romar to pull off his full-court press.

Rod Benson had 17 points and nine rebounds and Ayinde Ubaka matched his career high with 13 points to lead Cal (12-15, 5-12), which lost its sixth straight game and seventh in eight. Washington’s 24 wins match its most since the 1984 team finished 24-7 and shared the Pac-10 title with Oregon State on the way to the NCAA Tournament’s round of 16.

Washington and idle Arizona are tied atop the standings. They split their season series, so if they share the conference title, the tiebreaker will go the team with a better record against the third-place team.

The last time Washington won the conference outright was in 1953 when the Huskies won the former Pacific Coast Conference and went on to the school’s only Final Four.

(10) Washington 106, California 73

Washington (24-4)–Simmons 7-19 2-2 20, Jones 7-12 3-3 22, Jensen 1-2 0-0 2, Robinson 7-11 2-2 21, Conroy 0-3 2-2 2, J.Smith 3-5 1-2 8, Roy 4-9 2-3 11, Rollins 2-2 0-0 4, Fletcher 1-1 0-0 2, Gasser 1-2 0-0 2, Williams 6-9 0-0 12, Potter 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 39-76 12-14 106.

California (12-15)–Benson 5-9 7-8 17, McGuire 1-3 2-2 4, Paris 3-5 0-0 7, Midgley 3-6 1-3 8, M.Smith 1-6 2-2 4, Ubaka 5-9 0-2 13, Panawek 0-1 0-0 0, Vierneisel 1-2 2-3 4, Kately 6-10 0-0 13, Langford 0-2 2-2 2, Pribble 0-0 0-0 0, Hardin 0-2 1-5 1. Totals 25-55 17-27 73.

Halftime—Washington 55, California 36. 3-point goals—Washington 16-29 (Jones 5-6, Robinson 5-7, Simmons 4-10, Roy 1-1, J.Smith 1-3, Potter 0-1, Conroy 0-1), California 6-16 (Ubaka 3-7, Paris 1-1, Kately 1-2, Midgley 1-3, M.Smith 0-1, Panawek 0-1, Vierneisel 0-1). Fouled out—None. Rebounds—Washington 42 (Roy 6), California 33 (Benson 9). Assists—Washington 31 (Conroy 14), California 19 (Midgley 5). Total fouls—Washington 21, California 15. A—9,380.