Cougars beat Oregon to advance to Pac-10 semifinals

LOS ANGELES -- In the run-up to the Washington State-Oregon opener here in the Pac-10 men's basketball tournament, somebody reasoned that it was the Ducks who needed a victory more.

And then for 40 minutes Thursday night at Staples Center, the Cougars responded with this:

It doesn't matter.

Washington State isn't a team easily unhinged by emotion, either positive or negative. That's due, in part, to its placid, veteran guards, who again steadied them in the face of Oregon's multiple rushes as the Cougars successfully negotiated the quarterfinals, 75-70.

It was Washington State's 24th victory of the year against seven losses and makes it an even 50 over two seasons, a school record. It should earn the Cougars no worse than a No. 6 seed in the NCAA tournament, maybe better, depending on how they fare in the semifinals tonight against Stanford.

"I'm obviously biased, but I think we have some of the best guard play in the league," said WSU senior forward Robbie Cowgill.

He's not alone. In its latest issue, ESPN The Magazine paid a heavy compliment to WSU's backcourt, rating it behind only Memphis and UCLA in a composite of different categories, including experience, unflappability, depth, defense, shooting, passing, raw skills and penetration.

That's no small nod, putting WSU ahead of some perimeter-oriented outfits like Duke, Kansas, Texas and Butler.

All you needed was a stat sheet to know where this game was won. The teams shot almost identically, each making 25 field goals and WSU missing one more shot. They rebounded identically (26), each getting seven on the offensive end.

But WSU, riding a first half that was scintillating (10 assists, two turnovers), finished with 13 assists and seven turnovers, while Oregon had a mere six assists and 13 turnovers. The guard triumvirate of Derrick Low, Kyle Weaver and Taylor Rochestie formed WSU's three leading scorers -- 48 points on 16-of-28 shooting.

This was a game in which you needed guards. Once WSU carved up the Ducks on the way to a 42-22 lead late in the first half, Oregon coach Ernie Kent decided he had to go small, yanking center Joevan Catron in favor of backcourt help. That coaxed WSU coach Tony Bennett into pulling starting center Aron Baynes in favor of Nikola Koprivica.

"If we could have subbed Aron in offensively, we'd have been fine, but defensively, we'd have had some problems," Bennett said. "We just needed to hang on and make enough tough plays to overcome it."

The Ducks also began switching responsibilities on WSU screens, which led to some strange sights: Its big guy, Maarty Leunen, out on the perimeter, dogging Low, and once, when the 270-pound Baynes was still in the game, Tajuan Porter in the low block, willing all 5 feet 6 of him against the imposing Aussie.

"We just really tried to take advantage of mismatches, with the big guys guarding our guards," said Cowgill. "Derrick had a couple of nice drives, and so did Taylor."

Still, it got hairy. Starting late in the first half, the Ducks methodically pecked away at the 20-point deficit, scoring on six straight second-half possessions while the Cougars stagnated on offense. Malik Hairston got more aggressive offensively against Koprivica, and Porter began throwing in threes, mostly against Weaver.

Asked whom he last guarded who was 5-6, Weaver said, "Probably my little cousin."

Behind those two, the Ducks kept coming. With the score 66-61 and two minutes left, Hairston stood at the foul line with a chance to cut it to a one-possession game. His attempt swirled out, and at 1:39, Rochestie began a long procession to the foul line with two made free throws.

Much as WSU had to win a third game of the season against Washington here last year, so it did against the Ducks. And this could be a killer for Oregon, now just 1-8 against the league's four locks for the NCAA.

"It just may come down to who may lose," said Hairston, referencing other conference tournaments. "It's no longer in our hands."

Asked how hard it is to beat a team three times in a season, Bennett was quick to recall WSU went winless against the Cougars' next opponent, Stanford.

"After tonight's game," he said pointedly, "I hope it's impossible."

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

OREGON (18-13)
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Leunen	38	4-11	2-4	2-6	0	3	11
Catron	14	0-0	0-0	0-2	1	1	0
Hairston	30	7-11	5-6	1-7	0	4	20
Taylor	34	3-7	2-2	2-2	2	5	8
Porter	30	7-12	2-3	0-1	0	4	20
Platt	3	0-0	0-0	0-1	0	0	0
Odia	17	1-1	0-0	0-3	2	2	3
Longmire	24	2-4	1-2	0-1	1	4	6
Viney	3	0-0	0-0	1-1	0	2	0
Brown	7	1-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	2
	200	25-47	12-17	7-26	6	25	70

Percentages: FG .532, FT .706. Three-point goals: 8-20, (Leunen 1-7, Hairston 1-2, Taylor 0-1, Porter 4-7, Odia 1-1, Longmire 1-2). Team rebounds: 2. Blocked shots: 0, (). Turnovers: 13, (Leunen 2, Catron, Hairston 2, Taylor, Porter 3, Odia, Viney, Brown 2). Steals: 3, (Taylor, Odia, Longmire).

WASHINGTON STATE (24-7)
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Cowgill	36	5-9	2-2	2-6	0	3	12
Baynes	13	3-4	0-0	1-2	0	2	6
Low	37	7-13	1-3	0-2	0	2	18
Rochestie	38	5-8	5-6	1-5	3	0	16
Weaver	36	4-7	5-6	1-3	7	3	14
Koprivica	13	0-1	7-10	0-0	1	4	7
Cross	2	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0
Harmeling	15	1-4	0-0	0-4	2	0	2
Forrest	10	0-2	0-1	1-2	0	0	0
	200	25-48	20-28	7-26	13	14	75

Percentages: FG .521, FT .714. Three-point goals: 5-11, (Low 3-6, Rochestie 1-1, Weaver 1-2, Harmeling 0-2). Team rebounds: 1. Blocked shots: 2, (Cowgill, Weaver). Turnovers: 7, (Cowgill 2, Rochestie 2, Weaver, Forrest). Steals: 4, (Cowgill 2, Weaver, Koprivica).

Oregon	27	43	--	70
Washington State	42	33	--	75

Attendance: N/A. Officials: Bill Kennedy, Chris Rastatter Don McAllister. Technical fouls: None.