Cougars get downright defensive in lopsided win

DENVER — The record for defensive might was easily attainable, only Washington State had no clue. The Cougars were too busy being the Cougars.

They had challenged themselves over and over in the second half. Get more stops. Get more stops. Get. More. Stops. Suddenly, they were on the brink of holding Winthrop to the fewest points ever in an NCAA tournament half.

With 3:36 remaining, Winthrop had scored five second-half points. The feeble record is 10, which Kent State had tied earlier in the day. More history beckoned for the Cougs.

And that's when coach Tony Bennett started pulling his starters. He only knew that his team led by 31 points, and it was time to be classy. In the nonchalance of garbage time, the record drifted away.

So Washington State settled for allowing four measly field goals and 11 dinky points in one of the most riveting defensive stands you'll ever see.

Yet after a 71-40 victory, the Cougars shrugged.

"I wouldn't say our defense was exceptional in the second half," forward Daven Harmeling said.

Well, Connoisseur Harmeling, what exactly could've been better?

"They had a couple of looks more open than we'd like to give up," Harmeling replied.

But the Eagles clanked those shots. The Cougars allowed just one offensive rebound in the second half.

"There's always room for improvement," Harmeling countered.

To perfectionists, praise is poisonous. They'd rather keep on striving, keep on looking for the tiniest smudge marks. The Cougars understand that defense is their edge — sometimes their buoy — and they plan to rehearse Bennett's man-to-man principles until they wring out every bit of talent they possess.

They refused to acknowledge this accomplishment mostly out of disappointment over how the game began. In the first half, the defensive effort was uneven, and Bennett rumbled into the locker room at halftime demanding a better showing.

"You're either scared or you're being overconfident," Bennett told his team. "You better figure out which one it is and make a change. Because our whole deal is knowing who we are."

Over the final 20 minutes, the Cougars forced the Eagles to miss 20 of their 24 shots. Before Bennett started removing his best players, Winthrop was only 2 of 18 (11 percent) from the field in the second half.

The Eagles didn't score the first six minutes and 42 seconds of the half. Following their second field goal, they failed to make another shot for the next nine minutes and 48 seconds. Under an avalanche of bricks, a game that was tied at intermission turned into a demonstration of the Cougars' virtue.

"If we're right defensively, we feel like we have a shot to compete with anyone," forward Robbie Cowgill said. "If not, we're mediocre at best. Defense, that's our ticket."

Washington State figures Winthrop's poor shooting percentage had as much to do with frustration as defensive suffocation. The Cougars simply stopped penetration and forced the Eagles to take contested jump shots.

Here's how well the Cougars adjusted after the break: Ten of Winthrop's first 12 points came in the paint. In the second half, the Eagles only converted one easy shot.

The Eagles were limited to shooting jumpers over extended Cougar hands, and the few times they were open, they still missed. With each clank, the swagger slowly dripped from a team that won an NCAA tournament game a year ago.

"We got real frustrated because we could not knock down open shots," Winthrop coach Randy Peele said.

When the Cougars are at their best, they nag opponents into submission. This time, they added some stellar offensive execution and recorded their first blowout victory since they walloped USC in early February.

With their tiptoe pace, the Cougars don't expect to be in many lopsided games. They accepted this one with a grin and a quick transition to the next goal: Getting out of the second round. They failed in the round of 32 last season, losing a thrilling game to Vanderbilt.

"I know some players in here that are still upset about that Vanderbilt game," guard Taylor Rochestie said.

They know there is only one way to erase that memory.

Defend.

Defend like their scholarships depend on it.

They probably won't get another chance to set that record, but I'm sure winning multiple NCAA tournament games for the first time in 67 years would be an acceptable consolation.

Jerry Brewer: 206-464-2277 or jbrewer@seattletimes.com. For his Extra Points blog, visit seattletimes.com/sports