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Washington aiming for retribution against California

Feb 5, 2009 - 11:20 AM No. 25 Washington (16-5) at California (16-6) 10:30 p.m. EST

BERKELEY, California (Ticker) -- California hasn't been the same since its last meeting with Washington. Perhaps a return engagement will help right the ship.

The Golden Bears try to avoid their first three-game losing streak this season when they host the 25th-ranked Huskies on Thursday.

California (16-6, 5-4 Pac-10) won its ninth straight game and sealed its best start since 1959-60 by outlasting Washington for an 88-85, triple-overtime road victory on January 10.

Patrick Christopher scored a career-high 27 points and had 11 rebounds for the Bears, who scored the first point of the game and didn't lead again until taking an 86-85 advantage with 15 seconds remaining.

However, California was unable to build on that momentum, dropping back-to-back games and four of its next five overall, including a 73-62 loss to Southern California on Saturday.

The triple-overtime thiller is the only home loss thus far for the Huskies (16-5, 7-2), who are tied with No. 12 UCLA atop the conference standings.

Washington won four straight games following the setback to California, but the surge came to an end when it endured a 106-97 loss to Arizona last Thursday.

The Huskies emphatically bounced back, claiming an 84-71 victory over then-No. 14 Arizona State on Saturday.

Justin Dentmon scored a career-high 30 points against the Sun Devils and is the leading scorer in Pac-10 games, averaging 19.6 points in meetings with league opponents.