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Thomas' OT buzzer-beater gives Washington Pac-10 crown

Mar 13, 2011 - 4:58 AM Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Isaiah Thomas' jumper as time expired in overtime gave Washington a 77-75 win over No. 16 Arizona and its second consecutive Pac-10 Tournament title.

Arizona's Kevin Parrom had buried a three-pointer from the right side to tie the contest with 20.8 seconds remaining in overtime.

Thomas took the ball down the court himself, crossed over the three-point line and leaped up on a step-back jumper that went in as the clock expired, giving the Huskies the win.

"I score in bunches, so I'm really not worried about scoring," said Thomas. "I was just worried about making plays for my teammates. When it came down to it, when I needed to score, I did. At the end of the day it was just about making plays and seeing where I could get people open shots."

Thomas finished with 28 points, seven assists and five rebounds while Terrence Ross added 16 points for the third-seeded Huskies (23-10), who won this tournament for a third time.

Derrick Williams had 24 points and 11 rebounds while Solomon Hill and Parrom both donated 12 points for the top-seeded Wildcats (27-7), who were looking for their fifth championship.

"I thought it was just a great basketball game," said Arizona head coach Sean Miller. "Two teams that were playing their hearts out. I thought at times we were the more aggressive, better team. Certainly at times they were the more aggressive better team."

Arizona held a four-point lead with under two minutes to play in regulation off a Lamont Jones free throw. After missed shots at both ends, Thomas hit a three-pointer to make it a one-point game.

A bucket and foul shot from Williams moved the Wildcats back to a four-point lead, but Ross countered with another three-pointer with 17.2 seconds left.

Two more free throws from Jones again made it a three-point game with 14 seconds left, but Wilcox buried one from long range to tie the game with 5.7 showing and a desperation, off-balance shot by Jones failed to drop.

A 6-0 run by Arizona in the later stages of the first half gave the team a 32-24 lead on a Jordin Mayes three-pointer, but Thomas hit a pair of free throws near the end of the half to cut Washington's deficit to 36-33.

Arizona got the first four points of the second half for a seven-point lead, but Washington chipped away at the lead and kept it close to set up the ending.

Game Notes

Arizona still leads the series, 44-26...Washington hit 45.5 percent of its shots while Arizona made 42.9 percent of its attempts...It was the first time in the history of this tournament that the championship game went to overtime.