It took five minutes for Washington to score its first field goal against Arizona last night.

And it took just four minutes in the second half for Arizona to build a big enough lead to last the rest of the game.

A one-point halftime lead for the Huskies withered in front of an Arizona team that reeled off a 22-6 run midway through the second half, as the ninth-place Wildcats scored 68 points after halftime to withstand a furious UW comeback late in a 106-97 win at the McKale Center last night.

For as high-scoring as this one got, the UW was as slow out of the gates as it has been all season. Washington didn’t score until Jon Brockman made a pair of free throws with 16:30 left in the half, and Brockman’s lay-up a minute-and-a-half later was the UW’s first field goal.

When the lid came off the hoop, though, it stayed off. Arizona’s zone defense could have proved troubling for a UW team that doesn’t count outside shooting among its strong points. But Elston Turner and Justin Dentmon combined to knock down five three-pointers in a span of less than four minutes, fueling a 21-10 run that put the Huskies up by five, 29-24, after trailing 10-2 early.

Dentmon finished with 23 points, including a career-high seven three-pointers. Brockman finished with a team-high 27 points and 16 rebounds.

But the Huskies (15-5, 6-2 Pac-10) came undone for a four-minute stretch in the second half, which proved to be the difference. A lay-up by Quincy Pondexter cut what had become a four-point UA lead down to two with 13:47 left in the game. Washington wouldn’t score again until almost four minutes later, ending a 13-0 Wildcats run that saw three-pointers rain in from Jamelle Horne, Chase Budinger and Nic Wise.

Arizona finished 9-20 from beyond the arc.

Jordan Hill, Arizona’s dominating center and one of the best big men in the country, picked up his fourth foul with 14:40 to go.

It could have been a crucial loss for the Wildcats. Instead, they outscored the UW 22-11 with Hill on the bench, and the Huskies missed multiple chances to finish without Hill patrolling the paint.

And by the time Brockman scored with 10:07 left, Arizona had opened a 69-53 lead, which proved to be just enough to hold off the first-place Huskies.

It wasn’t for lack of trying. Even when this marathon looked like it had finally produced a winner, the Huskies snuck back into it just enough to leave a sliver of hope.

They shaved the lead to eight with 5:46 left. They got within seven with three minutes to go, cut it to six with 2:38 remaining and then a lay-up and free throw after a steal by Venoy Overton cut the UA lead to 91-88, a one-possession game with 1:51 left.

But Zane Johnson’s three-pointer put UA back ahead by six just 10 seconds later, and that was enough to break the UW’s back.

Other than its sloppy defense, Washington was also hurt by an off-night from Isaiah Thomas. The UW’s leading scorer finished with 15 points but was just 7-21 from the field and 0-7 from three-point range.

Arizona (13-8, 3-5) more or less had to have this one to keep its postseason dreams alive after dropping five of its first seven conference games.

For Washington, it means a disappointing end to its 3-0 record in conference road games. Now the Huskies must regroup in time to face No. 14 Arizona State tomorrow. The Sun Devils lost 65-55 to Washington State last night.

Reach reporter Christian Caple at sports@dailyuw.com.