Venoy Overton stars in UW win over Arizona

The point-a-minute point guard was supposed to be Arizona's Jerryd Bayless, he of the three games in a row over 30 points.

But as he did the Arizona defense with his dribble a few times, Washington's Venoy Overton crossed them up. The freshman from Franklin High led the Huskies to one of their biggest wins of the season, a 75-66 victory over Arizona at Edmundson Pavilion on Thursday night. Overton scored a career-high 19 points in 19 minutes.

Of Bayless, his fellow freshman, Overton said, "We're in the same class, and I wanted to come in there and prove that I'm not too less talented than he is."

Bayless scored a game-high 22 points but hit just 6 of 19 shots and had seven turnovers. He was guarded heavily much of the night by Overton, who was motivated to show better than he had in Arizona's 84-69 win over the Huskies last month in Tucson. In that game, Bayless scored an easy 26; Overton had just two.

"Pressure up on him, try to get in his head," Overton said of his defensive strategy on Bayless. "Last game he got loose. This game I wanted to talk to him, slow him down a little bit."

The tone was set early when Overton fouled Bayless hard about three minutes in. The Arizona guard fell to the ground, then got up quickly and took a few steps toward Overton before thinking better of it.

As Bayless stewed, Overton told him, "It's not going to be an easy night for you tonight."

What it was, instead, was UW's third win in four games, improving Washington's record to 15-12 and keeping hope alive for postseason bids. Arizona lost its fourth in five games and fell to 16-10, 6-7.

"Three of the last four games we've put forth the type of effort that allows you to win a lot of ball games," Washington coach Lorenzo Romar said.

Overton was the star, but he had a lot of support.

Jon Brockman turned in a stellar night with 15 points and 15 rebounds; six other players scored five points or more, led by Quincy Pondexter's nine off the bench.

And all contributed to a defensive effort that held Arizona to 21-of-54 shooting (38.9 percent).

The Huskies led 28-27 at the end of a first half that featured one record and a lot of missed shots.

Washington senior guard Ryan Appleby hit two three-pointers late in the half to become the school's career leader in that category, breaking the mark of Deon Luton, who had 211 from 1996 to 2000.

But overall, baskets were few in the first half as the Huskies hit just 12 of 33 shots (36.4 percent). Arizona was 10 for 26 (38.5 percent).

Overton had four points at halftime, having played eight minutes after picking up three fouls.

But he sank a jumper 48 seconds into the second half to foreshadow what was to come.

"I could feel it," Overton said of his offense. "In the second half when I was attacking, I could feel something big was happening."

One play midway through the second half typified UW's effort: Brockman, after knocking a ball loose, dove over the scorer's table in pursuit, and fell on his back. He stole the ball on the following possession, leading to a fast break and a UW basket that put the Huskies up 42-35 with 12:38 left.

Shortly after, the Huskies took control with a 10-1 run, the highlight of which was a three-point play by Overton, who drove hard down the lane and, as he was falling backward after being fouled by Kirk Walters, threw the ball up. It sailed high, landed on the front rim, and dropped in. Overton sank the free throw to put UW ahead 50-39 with 10:16 left.

"I knew I was going to get fouled," Overton said. "I just threw up a prayer and it went in."

Arizona quickly got back in the game with a 10-1 run over the next two minutes, keyed by a sequence in which the Wildcats scored five points in about five seconds on a made shot, a missed free throw and a three-pointer by Bayless off a rebound. Arizona eventually cut the lead to 55-53 with 5:58 left.

Overton settled the Huskies by scoring six in a row, all at the free-throw line, twice after being fouled on breaks following Arizona turnovers.

"I know that's what he's capable of," Romar said. "Tonight he was very focused."

The Huskies, one of the worst free-throw-shooting teams in the country, hit 20 of 26 in the second half. That included a 9-for-9 performance by Overton, who left to a standing ovation when he fouled out with 2:53 left, the win firmly in hand.

"We're just playing better basketball right now," Romar said. "Our focus is good. Our defense has gotten a lot better."

Bob Condotta: 206-515-5699 or bcondotta@seattletimes.com