4th-ranked Cougs, yes, No. 4, give UW a chemistry lesson

The nation's fourth-ranked college-basketball team came to Edmundson Pavilion on Saturday night. Chuckle, chuckle.

That would be Washington State, the crimson-headed stepchild of the Top 10. The team that, as it strolled Bellevue Square on Friday night, drew catcalls, not adoring gazes, from kids.

"People came up to us, telling us how bad we were," said Daven Harmeling, WSU's junior forward. "How bad we were going to lose to the UW."

The club that leads the nation in chemistry, if not McDonald's All-Americans, did it again to the Huskies. They may not be athletically overwhelming or the people's choice to go to the Final Four, but the Cougars have to be doing something right. They wrung out their 13th consecutive victory of 2007-08 with a grinding, 56-52 conquest of Washington.

This was six in a row over the Huskies for Washington State, but it was also different. Instead of getting frustrated with a controlled pace, Washington seemed for much of the game to flourish in it. Jon Brockman banged as only Brockman can; with a few minutes left on the clock, Washington State had 21 rebounds and Brockman had 17.

And leave it to a guy on whom they couldn't pin any of those five previous losses to spark the Huskies. Tim Morris, the Stanford transfer, was the X-factor for much of the night, taking Derrick Low to the hoop, floating back to nail his only two three-point attempts for part of his 16 points.

"I remember playing against him at Stanford when I was a freshman," said Harmeling. "I thought he and [Anthony] Goods were equally dangerous. He's a really good player."

Today, the Huskies have to wonder what it will take to beat Washington State. Consider: In the first five games in WSU's streak, the Cougars shot a composite .518 percent from the field. Reflecting their dogged consistency, they never shot less than 48 percent, nor more than 53.6.

And they held Washington to .368 percent shooting in those five. While the Cougars' guards always seemed to deliver the ball where it was needed, sometimes you weren't sure the Huskies always got it where they wanted it.

That's why this one will grate on Washington. The Huskies, playing the improved defense Washington State coach Tony Bennett had noted at midweek, held the Cougars to a season-low 42.6 percent.

Taylor Rochestie, who bedeviled Washington for a 15-point average in their three games a year ago, had a benign four points, partly under Morris' guard. Low and Kyle Weaver, the linchpins of the Washington State program, were a combined 8 for 23.

And still, the Cougars win.

"That's the reason I love playing a team sport," Rochestie said. "The other guys on the floor did an amazing job.

"We've been here before, even this year. Going through Baylor and Gonzaga, we know we can count on each other and trust each other."

Sure enough, the Cougars were clutch when they had to be. Low saved his only three-pointer of the night from the right corner for a 51-48 Washington State lead with 4:26 left, and after Morris misfired on two free throws, Rochestie curled in a six-foot bank shot against Morris.

To be sure, Washington State listed down the stretch, but it wasn't fatal. Weaver, an 85-percent foul shooter, missed two and took an ill-advised 14-footer.

Still, the Cougars and their trademark man-to-man defense put it on the Huskies to try to rescue the victory. And Washington, in the last half-minute, had two unsightly possessions and came up empty.

"We didn't do anything different," Harmeling said. "We just wanted to crank up the heat as much as we could. We just stayed with our principles.

"We do what we do."

Harmeling provided the Cougars an unexpected boost, coming back 15 days after fracturing a thumb in practice. He played 21 minutes and drained two of his three three-pointers.

"It's not like I'm trying to be a tough guy," said Harmeling. "I've got great trainers that know what they're doing.

"I haven't hit anything all year. I thought, 'Pac-10's rolling around, maybe it's OK to hit a few.' "

The Cougars gave Washington its defensive due. Said Bennett, "My hat goes off to Washington and how hard they played. It is a little different this year on the defensive end, for sure."

And nobody knows defense like the Cougars, who, if they're overrated, are also underappreciated. Asked if he hears skeptics, Rochestie said, "They'd have to talk about us first to be skeptics.

"Which is totally fine. We don't worry about anything other than what's in this locker room."

That's 13 victories, and a whole lot of cohesive.

Bud Withers: 206-464-8281 or bwithers@seattletimes.com