Washington St. 61, Notre Dame 41 | Cougars execute game plan vs. Irish

DENVER — In the moments before they met Notre Dame here Saturday, Washington State basketball players were met by the architect of their program.

"No fear, no regrets," Dick Bennett told them.

There was none of either at the Pepsi Center, in the most golden moment for the WSU program since it went to the NCAA final in 1941. What there was, was a poignant moment when Dick's son Tony strode a few rows up into the seats, shared a long hug with his dad and a kiss with his mom, Anne, while a section of crimson around them soaked in the ecstasy.

Sweet.

The Cougars wrote another chapter in one of college basketball's most extraordinary stories the past two seasons, befuddling Notre Dame and its Big East player of the year, Luke Harangody, in a 61-41 mauling of the Irish. It propels WSU into a Sweet 16 matchup Thursday in Charlotte against the winner of today's North Carolina-Arkansas game.

"Just an enormous pride," said Dick Bennett, explaining his feelings as his wife wiped a tear away.

"The two things they did were, they took away the early shot from Notre Dame's offense, and they did a great job on the big kid."

Matter of fact, they did a pretty good job on everybody, but Harangody felt most of the pain. He went 3 for 17 from the field, and while he had a monster day on the boards with 22, it was on offense that Notre Dame was most bedeviled, shooting only 24.5 percent against WSU's swarming defense and quick hands.

The Irish, the Big East's highest-scoring team, were ground to a standstill by the defense Dick Bennett installed and his son sustained. They had a mere 13 baskets in 53 attempts, and their 41 points are the fewest since they lost to Northwestern 40-36, in the pre-shot clock era of 1983.

Asked whether anything could have gone better than it did, WSU assistant coach Ron Sanchez said, "No." Then he clicked off the litany of assignments the Cougars (26-8) executed to near-perfection:

"The refs let us play," he said. "The kids that were supposed to make big plays did."

To wit: Kyle Weaver was an X-factor Notre Dame couldn't control, with 15 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals. Derrick Low hit only 2 of 9 threes, but went 4 of 6 elsewhere and led all scorers with 18 points. Aron Baynes did yeoman work banging on Harangody, getting 11 rebounds of his own. Robbie Cowgill had an unexpected breakout game offensively, hitting 6 of 7 for 12 points.

And as important as anything, point guard Taylor Rochestie controlled the pace on offense, matching Notre Dame's output with seven assists while guarding Irish guard Kyle McAlarney, their second-leading scorer, who missed 6 of 8 threes and had four turnovers.

It was McAlarney who dished out lavish praise of WSU afterward.

"Their guards are very good," he said, adding that he and guard Tory Jackson "can really learn a lot from their poise and demeanor out there."

"They're a very good team," McAlarney said. "They could go all the way. The way they played together shows the rest of the country how good they are. We'll be rooting for them."

Notre Dame's previous shooting low this season was 32.8 percent against Georgetown and 7-2 Roy Hibbert. So the Cougars beat that by 8 percentage points.

"Our team defense was superb tonight," said Rochestie.

Notre Dame took a 5-0 lead but the day pretty much belonged to WSU thereafter. The Cougars threw a 17-2 run at the Irish to take a 10-point lead as Weaver orchestrated, Low wove for midrange jumpers and WSU met Harangody seemingly at every turn.

"They held onto their defensive mind-set," Dick Bennett said. "At this point in the NCAA tournament, it really is about half-court defense."

Washington State led 32-19 at halftime, and there were early moments after intermission when they could have wavered. McAlarney dropped a quick three on Rochestie to get it back to 10, and six minutes later, Harangody missed a jumper that would have sliced it to five.

It was 42-33 when WSU got a boost from the most unlikely source on the floor. Cowgill hit two perimeter jumpers, loosening the interior, and then the Cougars rattled Notre Dame into complete submission with deft hands: Weaver stripping Zach Hillesland, Low frisking Harangody, Rochestie flicking the ball out of Rob Kurz's hands.

Notre Dame went dry on 12 of 13 possessions, WSU nudged the lead to 22, and the Irish were made to look a lot like Winthrop, the Cougars' 71-40 victim in the first round.

With 92 seconds left, the WSU crowd began chanting "Sweet 16!"

"We just kind of felt," said a beaming Rochestie, "like it was our time."

And what a time it was.

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