Washington State used its size advantage in the post and a career-high 25 points from forward DeAngelo Casto to claim a 78-61 victory over Arizona State on Thursday night in the Pac-10 Conference.

Casto and his teammates took advantage of a smaller Arizona State lineup and outscored the Sun Devils 34-12 in the paint and outrebounded them 41-34. Casto shot 11 for 18 from the field, and also had five rebounds and four blocks.

The Cougars shot 59 percent from the field and used an 18-6 run to take a 41-31 lead at halftime.

Arizona State closed the deficit to six points early in the second half, but Washington State (14-5, 4-3 Pac-10) used 14 second-half points from Klay Thompson to pull away and pick up its fourth conference win in five games.

Thompson, the Pac-10’s leading scorer, finished with 22 points, eight rebounds and nine assists.

Ty Abbott scored 16 points for Arizona State (9-9, 1-5), which dropped its fourth straight game and faces another tough matchup Saturday at No. 20 Washington.