Azuolas Tubelis had 18 points and 12 rebounds and No. 6 Arizona beat Washington State 63-58 on Thursday night.
Kerr Kriisa added 15 points to help Wildcats (18-3, 7-3 Pac-12) split the season series with the Cougars (9-13. 4-7).
“They were a handful, so getting a road victory here is really meaningful,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “There’s games like this that come down to matchups. So, I was really proud of our guys for getting off to a good start and then just kind of hanging with it.”
Washington State beat a Top 5 team on the road for the first time when it upset the Wildcats 74-61 in Tucson this month. The Cougars ended Arizona’s 28-game home winning streak with the biggest victory of Kyle Smith’s coaching tenure.
With 9:22 left and Arizona ahead by a basket, the Wildcats broke out of a scoring slump by scoring on five straight possessions to open a double-digit lead.
Powell and Mouhamed Gueye each scored 15 points for Washington State. The Cougars shot 19 of 58 and made just four 3-pointers.
“Disappointed that we didn’t play better, we gave ourselves a chance but just turned it over too much,” Smith said. “But our guys competed hard, and that’s really good.”
UP NEXT
Arizona: At Washington on Saturday.
Washington State: Hosts Arizona State on Saturday.