Blakes scores 23, leads Sun Devils past Huskies 78-68

SEATTLE (AP) Slowed by foul trouble most of the first half, the last thing Arizona State's Gerry Blakes needed was to pick up a silly, pointless technical foul - his third foul of the game - before halftime.

''Just being silly, uncharacteristic. I got a little emotional, said some things, said a thing,'' Blakes said. ''It was just out of the emotion of the game I said something.''

Blakes more than made up for his moment of immaturity in the second half.

Blakes scored 23 points, including nine straight late in the second half, and Arizona State won on the road for just the second time this season, beating Washington 78-68 on Sunday afternoon.

Blakes scored 16 of 20 points for Arizona State during one stretch of the second half as the Sun Devils (13-12, 5-7 Pac-12) outscored Washington 23-8 over the final 7:45 of the game and won away from home for the first time since routing California on Jan. 22.

''He refocused. He knew he didn't do the right thing,'' Arizona State coach Herb Sendek said. ''He was certainly big for us in the second half. You can see Gerry getting better and better. He's at such a different place than he was when we started conference play.''

Savon Goodman added 19 points and 13 rebounds, including seven offensive boards. Shaquielle McKissic added 16 points. The Sun Devils snapped an eight-game losing streak against the Huskies.

Washington (14-11, 3-10) dropped its seventh straight game, the longest losing streak of coach Lorenzo Romar's tenure. Nigel Williams-Goss led Washington with 20 points.

Andrew Andrews added 19 for the Huskies, who have not won since beating Colorado on Jan. 22.

With the Huskies off until next Sunday, Romar is giving his team two days off to figure out what to make of this season.

''With three weeks left, five games left on our schedule, we have to make sure we can find where that hope is,'' Romar said. ''I've been in this situation and the teams we've had a couple of times like this in rebuilding situations they've stuck it out. They've always gotten better.''

The Huskies were poised to snap the losing skid after withstanding one Arizona State run in the second half. The Sun Devils scored 10 straight to take a 44-40 lead with 12:46 left.

Andrews suddenly got hot and shot the Huskies back in front, including consecutive 3-pointers and a driving layup. Darin Johnson converted a three-point play, scoring in transition and Williams-Goss added a three-point play of his own with 7:42 left to give the Huskies a 60-55 lead.

That lead was gone in an instant thanks to Blakes and started Arizona State's final surge. Blakes beat the Huskies in transition for a layup and added an open 3 moments later to draw even at 60. He knocked down two free throws and added another basket in the lane for a 64-62 lead.

Shawn Kemp Jr. answered for Washington, but Blakes found McKissic open for a 3 and a 67-64 lead with 4:25 left and the Huskies never pulled even again. Arizona State scored 14 of the final 18 points and held Washington to one field goal the final 4:49.

''Just being aggressive,'' Blakes said. ''Coach always preaches being aggressive.''

TIP INS:

Arizona State: Arizona State played without key reserve Bo Barnes after he suffered an ankle injury in Friday's loss at Washington State. Barnes was averaging 7.5 points and 18 minutes per game in conference play.

Washington: Washington was on the verge of having a halftime lead for the first time since Jan. 15 when Johnson was called for a backcourt foul with 0.7 seconds left in the first half. Tra Holder hit both free throws and the Sun Devils had a 30-29 lead.

CONTROL THE GLASS:

Arizona State outrebounded Washington 44-26, including 18-9 on the offensive end. That led to 42 points in the paint for the Sun Devils and 13 second-chance points.

UP NEXT:

Arizona State: The Sun Devils return home to host UCLA on Wednesday.

Washington: The Huskies get a week off before traveling to Pullman to face rival Washington State.