Arizona guard Dalen Terry attempts a 3-pointer in the opening minutes of Monday night’s game against Washington.

 Rebecca Sasnett, Arizona Daily Star

No matter where the Arizona Wildcats looked Monday, something was trying to tell them it was not their night.

Before their 95-79 win over Washington, the Wildcats faced the potential rust of a 12-day layoff induced in part by COVID troubles that forced postponements at UCLA and USC (and they learned after the game that their next scheduled game, Saturday at ASU, would also be postponed).

In the stands, until fans stood up when Arizona led Washington by only five points with eight minutes left to play, there wasn’t much energy inside McKale Center. A crowd of only about 9,000 showed up for what was a remake of a game originally scheduled for Dec. 2.

On the court, it was even more ominous for the Wildcats a while. On one end they had to face a tricky 2-3 zone defense that helped force 21 Arizona turnovers …. and on the other end of the court, there was a former teammate busy tearing up their own defense.

Former UA guard Terrell Brown, who topped out at 18 points while playing for the Wildcats as a grad transfer last season, had a game-high 28 points by shooting 10 for 22 from the field and going to the line 10 times to hit eight free throws.

“He was as competitive and as good as we know he is,” Washington coach Mike Hopkins said. “He made big play after big play. He competes. He was a great leader tonight. Not only on the court but in the locker room and in timeouts. He’s got a competitive genius, pretty high level.”

But still, Brown’s old teammates figured out a way to beat him: By committee, the same one that has brought Arizona to a 12-1 start and 2-0 mark so far in Pac-12 play.

On Monday, Bennedict Mathurin had 27 points while scoring all over the place, Kerr Kriisa scored 21 points with a career-high six 3-pointers, while center Christian Koloko added 22 points and 10 assists.

On top of all that, guard Dalen Terry had his first double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds while also setting a career high in assists with eight.

Together, that quartet helped overcome the fact that UA received only nine points and one rebound from Azuolas Tubelis – although the sophomore power forward did have six assists – and the problem of receiving only three total points from their bench on a night when guard Pelle Larsson suffered what appeared to be a minor left ankle injury.

Arizona center Christian Koloko is fouled by Washington forward Langston Wilson during the second half of Monday’s game.

“Terrell Brown was spectacular,” UA coach Tommy Lloyd said. “But I told our guys, `Listen, he’s a really good player. He’s got a ton of freedom and he’s got a ton of experience. He might win a few of the battles but our ultimate goal is to win the war as a team.’ Luckily, we were able to do that.”

But unlike most of their first 11 wins this season, the Wildcats weren’t in position to win easily until the final few minutes. While they jumped out to leads of up to 13 in the first half, Arizona led just 49-41 at halftime, thanks largely to 10 turnovers the Huskies converted into 17 points before halftime.

That trend continued at times into the second half, with Washington finishing with 25 points off Arizona’s 21 turnovers, and Lloyd felt compelled to tip his cap.

“They’re a pain,” Lloyd said of the Huskies. “They do an unbelievable job of creating turnovers when you’re trying to pass inside the zone — and when you’re trying to pass from inside to outside the zone. And you can’t simulate it in practice. Hopefully was a great learning experience for our guys.”

It was.

“Their defense is different,” said Kriisa, who simply shot over the zone or poked holes in it, with Hopkins lamenting that the Huskies “lost” Kriisa on some occasions.

“That was hurtful,” Hopkins said.

Washington guard PJ Fuller and Arizona center Oumar Ballo fight for a rebound during the first half of Monday’s game.

Another way the Wildcats solved the zone came when, after they started establishing what became 12 for 28 shooting from 3-point range, the Huskies extended the zone – and the Wildcats responded by getting the ball to Koloko, who had 11 rebounds and seven rebounds in the second half.

“We had more chances to get ball inside and find those good angles to score inside,” Kriisa said. “So I think it was really big for us that we started off good.”

Meanwhile, Mathurin kept doing his thing, despite being what Lloyd called “out of sorts” early in the second half because of frustrations with Washington’s zone.

While scoring over 20 points for the fifth time in his past seven games, Mathurin wound up heading inside to make 6 of 7 two-pointers while adding 4 of 9 shooting from 3-point range. He provided an artistic complement to Terry, who fed him twice with assists for dunks and another time for a 3-pointer.

“We subbed (Mathurin out) and I told Murph (associate head coach Jack Murphy) to go talk to him and maybe find a couple of different pockets in that zone,” Lloyd said. “He did a great job of listening and you saw him down on that baseline in there and attack the center. He’s athletic and strong enough to do it.

“I’m not surprised because he’s doing it every night. He’s really consistent. I’m really happy for him. He and I have had some great talks and we’re both just locked into winning for Arizona basketball right now.”

Arizona 95, Washington 79

WASHINGTON (5-6)

Matthews 6-12 0-1 16, Roberts 0-0 0-0 0, Bey 4-12 0-0 9, Brown 10-22 8-10 28, Davis 2-8 0-0 5, Fuller 5-12 0-0 11, Sorn 3-4 0-0 6, Wilson 1-3 0-0 2, Bajema 0-0 2-2 2, Grant 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 31-75 10-13 79.

ARIZONA (12-1)

A.Tubelis 3-7 3-4 9, Koloko 8-13 6-7 22, Kriisa 6-10 3-3 21, Terry 5-9 1-1 13, Mathurin 10-16 3-4 27, Larsson 1-3 1-2 3, Kier 0-2 0-0 0, Ballo 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-60 17-21 95.

Halftime-Arizona 49-41. 3-Point Goals-Washington 7-24 (Matthews 4-6, Davis 1-4, Bey 1-5, Fuller 1-5, Grant 0-1, Wilson 0-1, Brown 0-2), Arizona 12-25 (Kriisa 6-9, Mathurin 4-9, Terry 2-3, Kier 0-2, Larsson 0-2). Fouled Out-Wilson. Rebounds-Washington 29 (Brown 8), Arizona 42 (Terry 11). Assists-Washington 14 (Brown 6), Arizona 28 (Terry 8). Total Fouls-Washington 16, Arizona 17. A-12,496 (14,644).

Become a #ThisIsTucson member! Your contribution helps our team bring you stories that keep you connected to the community. Become a member today.

Contact sports reporter Bruce Pascoe at 573-4146 or bpascoe@tucson.com. On Twitter @brucepascoe