Akinjo, Arizona pull away from Washington State 69-53

<p>TUCSON, Ariz. &mdash; James Akinjo scored 19 points and Arizona shut down Washington State, pulling away for a 69-53 victory on Thursday night.</p>
<p>Bennedict Mathurin added 14 points for the Wildcats (16-8, 10-8 Pac-12 Conference), who won the first meeting 86-82 in double overtime. Azuolas Tubelis had nine points and nine rebounds. Akinjo had six rebounds, four assists and four steals.</p>
<p>Arizona led 28-24 at halftime </p>
<p>The Wildcats had a solid offensive performance in a game where the Cougars slowed the pace. They shot 50% and had a 40-32 rebounding advantage but the real difference was on the defensive end where Arizona shut down Washington State’s top scorer and hottest scorer.</p>
<p>TJ bomba scored 12 points and Dishon Jackson 10 for the Cougars (14-11, 7-11).</p>
<p>Noah Williams, who had a school record 72 points in two games last weekend, was held to eight points on 2-of-15 shooting, 1 of 8 from 3-point range. Isaac Bonton, who averages 18.4, was held to three in 19 minutes in his first game back after missing three games with an ankle injury.</p>
<p>The Cougars ended up shooting 7 of 28 behind the arc and 20 of 63 overall (31.7%). </p>
<p>Washington State wraps up the regular season by playing at Arizona State Saturday and Monday. Arizona is home against Washington on Saturday.</p>
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