Notebook | Appleby, Morris likely played last home game

Washington seniors Ryan Appleby and Tim Morris watched the end of the game from the bench, helpless as the final seconds ticked away on what was likely the last home game of their careers.

They could be back if UW makes the NIT and the Huskies are seeded at home. But otherwise Saturday was goodbye, and it was a painful one as Arizona State beat Washington 77-63 at Edmundson Pavilion.

"We really needed this game; that's what makes it bad," said Morris, who scored three points in 21 minutes before fouling out with 7:33 left. Most of his fouls came while defending ASU's fabulous freshman guard, James Harden, who finished with a game-high 25 points.

Appleby, meanwhile, scored 12 points but was 4 for 16 from the field, 4 for 15 from the three-point line. He suffered a frustrating offensive game that typified the day for the entire team. He was pulled with 2:18 left, getting an ovation muted by the fact the Huskies were down 19 at the time.

"It's tough to swallow," he said. "It's one of those games you remember the rest of your life."

Morris had been lauded for his defensive work on Harden when the Huskies beat ASU 72-61 in Tempe last month. Harden, who scored 17 in that game, was also slowed by a groin injury and hadn't practiced all week before the first meeting.

Morris also noted "we had more time to prepare for him last time," when the game fell on a Thursday rather than a Saturday. "We had only a day [to prepare], and they run some pretty intricate stuff."

Morris also felt UW was at a disadvantage with the officials calling a close game.

"I couldn't be physical with him," Morris said. "When they call a tight game, you have to adjust and I didn't adjust well."

Appleby, who set the school record for made three-pointers in the win over Arizona on Thursday, had some open looks early and came out firing, going 3 for 10 in the first half. But he missed his last five shots.

"There were a few I thought would go down that just didn't," he said. "You've just got to move on."

Mystery man

Huskies fans might have been caught off-guard by the strong game turned in by ASU freshman forward Rihards Kuksiks, a native of Latvia who scored 15 points in 20 minutes. He hadn't played the first time the two teams met, a string of four straight DNPs while he adjusted to the Pac-10. Kuksiks began getting playing time after ASU lost five in a row.

"He hadn't been playing at all, but we knew he could shoot it," said Appleby.

Notes

• Former Sonics coach and player Nate McMillan, now coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, watched the game from behind the ASU bench. His son Jamelle, an O'Dea High School graduate, is a freshman at ASU. McMillan was in town after the Blazers lost Friday night to the Sonics. It was the third time he has seen an ASU game this season, taking in two last week during the All-Star break. "It motivates you to give a good performance for the very few times he's able to come," said Jamelle, who scored three points in nine minutes.

• Washington ends the regular season 12-6 at home, but just 4-5 at home in Pac-10 play, the worst since UW also went 4-5 in home Pac-10 games in 2002-03, Lorenzo Romar's first season as coach. "This is usually the place where we never lose," forward Jon Brockman said.