SEATTLE — C.J. Wilcox broke out of a shooting slump with 24 points, Shawn Kemp Jr., added all 10 of his points in the second half, and Washington pulled away late for a 72-62 win over Oregon State on Saturday night.
The Huskies (14-12, 6-7 Pac-12) had lost three straight and dropped seven of eight overall, coinciding with Wilcox’s slump. The Huskies’ leading scorer had scored more than 20 points just once in the previous eight games.
He finally reached that plateau again on Saturday by hitting seven of 14 shots. Wilcox has been bothered by a left foot injury that has limited his practice time.
Kemp’s points gave Washington an inside presence, but just as important was the season-high eight points and seven rebounds off the bench by Jernard Jarreau.
Roberto Nelson led Oregon State (13-13, 3-10) with 19 points. Joe Burton added 10 points but was shut out in the second half.
Wilcox came in averaging 17.3 points on the season, but he shot just 35 percent and averaged 13 points over the previous eight games.
But he hit his first two shots, a sign that he was in for a far more productive night offensively. During his slump, the only time Wilcox topped 20 points was in a loss to the Beavers on Jan. 23.
Washington started the second half on a 14-5 run, taking the lead on Abdul Gaddy’s floater in the lane and extending it with a pair of 3-pointers from Wilcox. The lead grew to seven when Kemp slammed a lob from Andrew Andrews, but it was down to 49-47 after Nelson hit a pair of free throws with 10:54 left.
Washington answered with consecutive baskets and had a chance to push the lead to eight, but Aziz N’Diaye missed underneath the basket on a fast break. Challe Barton scored for the Beavers, and after a five-second count against Washington on the inbounds play, Nelson was fouled shooting a 3 and made all three shots to trim the lead to 53-52 with 8:51 left.
Wilcox scored on a drive, and after the Huskies twice missed a chance to extend the lead, Kemp and Gaddy scored on consecutive possessions to push the lead to 59-53 with less than 5 minutes remaining.
