Men's NCAA Tournament
Oklahoma State ends magical run for Eastern Washington

By Kevin Kaduk
Special to The Seattle Times

	ORLIN WAGNER / AP Eastern Washington center Gregg Smith, right, tries to get past Oklahoma State's Ivan McFarlin in the first half.
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Sure, this loss hurt Eastern Washington.

But after being bounced from the first round of the NCAA tournament yesterday, the Eagles appeared anything but depressed.

For one half, the team, a No. 15 seed, had played right along with second-seeded Oklahoma State, throwing some doubt into a pro-Cowboys crowd at Kemper Arena.

And while Eastern Washington couldn't keep up in the second half — it eventually fell 75-56 — the team wasn't allowing one trip to overshadow an entire journey.

"I'm proud as heck," said EWU coach Ray Giacoletti, who helped lead the Eagles to their first NCAA tournament appearance in 21 tries as a Division I school. "We were in a position where there were 20 minutes left to decide the basketball game. I have no qualms (with the effort).

"We've been working toward this point for a while. Our program has been all about steps. Maybe we'll take the next step when we get back here next time."

In the end, Oklahoma State proved to be everything that experts predicted: too big, too fast and too strong.

But EWU threw a scare into the Cowboys early. After falling behind 6-0 to start the game, the Eagles came back behind center Gregg Smith, who hit all six of his first-half shots for 12 points.

And when senior Brendon Merritt hit two free throws with three seconds remaining in the half to tie the score at 36, it looked like Eastern Washington might have a shot to become the fifth No. 15 seed to pull off an upset of a No. 2 seed.

"We didn't respect (Eastern Washington) like you're supposed to respect a team," Oklahoma State forward Ivan McFarlin said later. "No matter if they're a 15 seed, you can't take them lightly."
 
Eagles senior Alvin Snow admitted to seeing a different attitude from Oklahoma State in the second half, a fact that was apparent to everyone in attendance.

The Cowboys made a 12-2 run to open a 10-point lead, and when EWU crept back within six, the Cowboys again extended the margin.

Eastern Washington shot 26 percent (7 of 27) in the second half, while Oklahoma State shot 58 percent (15 of 26).

Snow, a former Franklin star, said playing defense against a more physically gifted team took its toll on the Eagles' offense.

"I can't speak for my teammates, but my legs are killing me right now," said Snow, who shot 1 of 10 and finished with two points. "It was tough to work so hard defensively and then get back on offense for a good shot."

McFarlin led all scorers with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while teammate Tony Allen scored 17 and hauled down nine rebounds.

Smith led EWU with 16 points, while Merritt had 14 and Marc Axton had 10.

The loss put an end to a magical season for EWU, which finished 17-13. The Eagles won the Big Sky regular-season championship and beat Northern Arizona in the championship game of the conference tournament.

The NCAA tournament bid sparked a frenzy in Cheney; Snow was even given a standing ovation after entering a classroom.

The Eagles' performance yesterday might have gained them a few new believers. Count Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton among them.

"We're not going to be overlooking any teams for the rest of the tournament," Sutton said.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company