UW Basketball Notebook | Tempers flare in competitive contest

After almost coming to blows during the game, the Washington Huskies and Arizona State Sun Devils were sending verbal Hallmark cards to each other afterward.

"What happens on the court always stays on the court," said Huskies guard Venoy Overton, a central figure in a skirmish with 13:43 left in Friday's 75-65 Sun Devils win. "This never goes off the court. Everybody's cool."

Tempers were flaring, however, when ASU's James Harden chest-bumped Overton after hitting a layin and being fouled. Overton then grabbed Harden's jersey to try not to fall down. Once Overton was on the ground, ASU's Derek Glasser walked over Overton, and the two got tangled, leading to some menacing gathering, though coaches were able to intercede before any punches were thrown. Still, Harden, Glasser and Overton were all given technicals.

"He [Harden] came and just bumped me, and as I'm falling down I grab to try to keep myself up," Overton said. "That's when Glasser came over the top of me. He kind of just hovered over me and I couldn't stand up."

Harden tried to avoid talking about it afterward, calling Overton a great person and player and saying only, "It was just a great competitive game. Washington is a great team. We're competitive as well, so guys are just playing hard."

Glasser also had a foggy memory.

"Everything just happened so fast I don't really remember," he said.

Overton said the fact that Huskies players rushed to his defense showed the closeness of a team that won the Pac-10 regular-season title.

"The teammates that I've got, they were not going to let one player get pushed around so they all came to my help," he said. "That's how it is. It was just some pushing and shoving to let each other know that we weren't backing down from each other."

No panic

Friday's game featured some incredible swings of momentum.

Washington came back from a 21-point first-half deficit to take a two-point lead in the second half. Then Arizona State turned in an 11-0 run to seal the game.

Said Overton: "I had great confidence. I was telling everybody at halftime, 'Just don't let anyone see you mad or upset. We are going to come back.' I felt just a couple of plays got them the win."

Said Harden: "We knew they were going to make a run. All we had to do was keep our composure and just settle down."

Notes

• UW's shooting percentage of 37.5 (24 of 64) was its third-lowest of the season.

• Jon Brockman now has 1,775 points, moving into second on the Washington all-time scoring list behind only Chris Welp (2,073). Brockman moved past Bob Houbregs (1,774).