Notebook | Jon Brockman's injury ominous for Huskies

PULLMAN — Huskies forward Jon Brockman could only watch as the last 1:56 of Washington's 76-73 double-overtime loss to Washington State ticked away Saturday.

"It was terrible," he said. "I would have gone back in if I could have walked."

Instead, he couldn't put any weight on a left ankle that was sprained when he came down awkwardly while going for a rebound of a missed three-pointer by teammate Ryan Appleby. UW's heart and soul was then helped off the court, an ominous sight for the Huskies as they prepare for the Pac-10 tournament.

The injury was initially diagnosed as a sprained left ankle, but it was a pretty severe one — Brockman had his foot in a boot, and he used crutches to leave the arena. He said he turned the ankle "about all the way over" and he'll have the injury re-examined today once the team is back in Seattle.

The Huskies will play Cal in the first round of the Pac-10 tournament Wednesday in Los Angeles.

Brockman said: "If it's just a sprain, I'm playing."

But with the short turnaround, it may take a lot for him to be anywhere near 100 percent.

Washington coach Lorenzo Romar said it's "so hard to tell" if Brockman will be able to go against Cal.

"It'll be tough not having him," forward Quincy Pondexter said.

But Brockman noted that the Huskies made up ground on the Cougars during a six-minute stretch he sat on the bench during the first half.

"There's no reason we shouldn't come into the tournament with a lot of confidence," he said.

Brockman said he was unsure exactly what happened on the play, whether he landed on the foot of another player or just landed strangely.

"We're just going to treat it all week and get it to as close to 100 percent as we can," he said.

Time stops

As Brockman lay on the ground, the Cougars began to head the other way before the officials called time. Fans booed, remembering an incident in the game in Seattle when the Huskies scored on a five-on-four break when Taylor Rochestie fell hard to the ground. Romar and Brockman each said they didn't know why play stopped.

Crossing paths

Just as Romar began his postgame interview he was interrupted by former WSU coach Dick Bennett.

"You guys played great ball, great ball," Bennett told Romar before asking whether he could check on Brockman.

Foul or no foul?

Romar and UW guard Venoy Overton each said they thought a foul could have been called when Overton drove to the hoop with the score tied at the end of the first overtime — Kyle Weaver was instead credited with a steal on the play as Overton lost the ball.

But both also said they couldn't complain too much about it.

"I wouldn't say you would have to call a foul on that," Romar said.

Reminded of a controversial foul at the end of the UCLA-Stanford game Thursday, however, Romar agreed that Overton seemed to take more contact than did Darren Collison.

"I would say so, definitely," he said.

NOTES

• The Cougars started all five seniors, including little-used forward Chris Henry and walk-on guard Jeremy Cross.

• With his mom running late, Cross was accompanied during Senior Day festivities by former Cougar Ivory Clark.

• The Horizon Air plane ferrying the Huskies home to Seattle is one of four painted with the colors and logos of the Northwest Pac-10 schools. It was covered in Cougars colors.

WASHINGTON
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Wallace	18	2-2	0-0	1-2	0	2	4
Brockman	38	8-15	1-2	5-11	0	4	17
Overton	35	2-7	1-3	2-7	6	3	5
Morris	33	2-5	0-0	1-5	5	4	4
Appleby	34	5-11	2-2	0-2	0	0	16
Smith	3	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0
Dentmon	25	1-6	3-4	1-1	1	0	5
Bryn-Amnng	26	3-6	1-3	3-6	0	3	7
Pondexter	21	3-7	6-6	1-5	0	5	12
Wolfinger	17	1-3	0-0	1-2	1	5	3
	250	27-62	14-20	18-47	13	26	73

Percentages: FG .435, FT .700. Three-point goals: 5-13, .385 (Appleby 4-10, Wolfinger 1-2, Dentmon 0-1). Team rebounds: 6. Blocked shots: 2 (Brockman, Morris). Turnovers: 22 (Overton 5, Brockman 4, Dentmon 3, Pondexter 3, Bryan-Amaning 2, Morris, Appleby). Steals: 6 (Pondexter 2, Appleby, Overton, Bryan-Amaning, Morris). Technical fouls: None.

WASHINGTON ST.
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Cowgill	40	5-9	0-1	3-8	1	3	10
Henry	3	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0
Low	47	6-13	2-3	0-1	2	3	16
Cross	3	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0
Weaver	44	5-12	9-13	1-3	6	1	20
Koprivica	10	0-1	1-2	0-0	1	1	1
Rochestie	46	5-10	2-2	0-2	5	4	16
Baynes	38	1-4	5-8	2-8	0	3	7
Harmeling	4	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	3	0
Forrest	15	3-5	0-0	0-3	0	1	6
	250	25-55	19-29	8-29	15	19	76

Percentages: FG .455, FT .655. Three-point goals: 7-19, .368 (Rochestie 4-8, Low 2-6, Weaver 1-4, Harmeling 0-1). Team rebounds: 4. Blocked shots: 2 (Cowgill 2). Turnovers: 15 (Weaver 5, Baynes 4, Rochestie 3, Low 3). Steals: 6 (Low 2, Weaver 2, Baynes, Rochestie). Technical fouls: None.

Washington	26	32	9	6	—	73
Washington St.	30	28	9	9	—	76

Attendance: 10,630. Officials: Michael Irving, Michael Greenstein, Gregory Nixon.