Pac-10 Men's Basketball | Cougars knock off Cardinal

PULLMAN, Wash. — There is a little life left in Washington State, thanks to a pair of electric freshmen and a crafty senior.

Freshman Klay Thompson ignited the Cougars' second-half rally. Senior Taylor Rochestie hit a running 10-footer with 17 seconds left. And freshman DeAngelo Casto stuffed Anthony Goods' layup attempt with 7 seconds left as Washington State snapped a three-game losing streak with a 55-54 win over Stanford on Saturday night.

Down 11 late in the first half, Washington State (9-6, 1-2 Pac-10) charged into the lead early in the second half thanks to its energetic freshmen — Thompson and Casto — then rode the experience of Rochestie in the final minutes to win at home for the first time since Dec. 2. Rochestie finished with 21 points.

"I kept telling them, 'You're close ... Let's just be who we are,' " said Washington State coach Tony Bennett, whose team had lost three straight. "I said, 'Let's just be the best we can be. If we're going to be a low-scoring team, let's be the best grind-it-out team that we can and find ways to win.'"

Lawrence Hill and Anthony Goods each scored 15 for Stanford (11-3, 1-3), but Goods' last-second attempt from 30 feet fell short as time expired.

Stanford was seeking a critical split following its one-point loss at Washington two nights earlier. Instead, the Cardinal heads back to the Bay Area with a pair of one-point setbacks despite showing that it can play a patient, methodical style that has not been new coach Johnny Dawkins' trademark in his first season as Stanford's coach.

And Stanford will be kicking itself for the chances missed, none more than Josh Owens. The sophomore forward, who did not play in the first half for an undisclosed reason, had a chance to give Stanford a three-point lead, but missed an open hook shot from two feet with 29 seconds left.

"It wasn't his fault missing the layup," Hill said. "It was all of our faults."

Washington State immediately charged ahead and Rochestie, who scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half, found a gap in the Cardinal defense and hit a one-footed runner with 17 seconds left.

Instead of calling timeout, Dawkins let his team play and Goods found a lane to the basket. That's when Casto, the Cougars' long-armed, athletic freshman, slid in and stuffed what looked to be a wide-open lane for Goods.

Casto was fouled and missed both free throws but Goods could only get off a desperation attempt as time expired.

WSU started the second half on a 14-4 run, capped by Thompson's electrifying dunk. Goods was also called for a block and Thompson completed the three-point play to give WSU a 34-32 lead.

Thompson finished with 13 points and the Cougars were able to avoid the first four-game losing streak in coach Tony Bennett's career.

Other games

At Arizona 64, Oregon State 47

Chase Budinger had 24 points and sealed the Wildcats' victory with four straight free throws following the ejection of Beavers coach Craig Robinson.

Budinger made the free throws with 2:14 remaining Saturday after Robinson drew two technicals for arguing with the officials.

"I usually have a really good relationship with the referees, so I was surprised," said Robinson, the brother-in-law of President-elect Barack Obama.

Oregon State closed to within 55-47 when Daniel Deane and Omari Johnson fell to the floor after Budinger retrieved a missed shot on the Beavers' side of the court. Pac-10 official Bobby McRoy quickly called the technicals on Robinson.

"When my two guys fell down, and there was no call, that is what set me off," Robinson said. "That was the point I wanted our guys to know that I wasn't allowing them to get pushed around any longer.

"I said, 'That was a foul,' but I said it very loud. I wanted him to make sure he heard me," Robinson said.

Arizona (11-5, 2-2) was called for five fouls in the game and made 17 of 20 free-throw attempts, while Oregon State had 16 fouls and only three free-throw tries.

Budinger converted the four free throws stemming from the technicals.

Lathen Wallace led Oregon State (6-8, 1-3) with a season-high 17 points.

At No. 20 Arizona State 76, Oregon 58

Derek Glasser scored 15 points and had a career-high 11 assists, and the Sun Devils routed the Ducks for their 10th win in 11 games.

James Harden scored 19 for the Sun Devils (14-2, 3-1 Pac-10).

LeKendric Longmire scored 15 points and Drew Wiley had 12 for Oregon. The Ducks (6-10, 0-4) are off to their worst start in Pac-10 play since 1992-93, when they lost their first 11 games and finished 3-15.

Leading 24-20 with 6 minutes to go in the first half, the Sun Devils took command with a 15-3 run sparked by O'Dea graduate Jamelle McMillan, who hit back-to-back three-pointers.