Cougs upset No.18 Zags

PULLMAN — Washington State basketball coach Tony Bennett gave his father, Dick, a get-well present ahead of his upcoming hip-replacement surgery.

Derrick Low scored 22 points and Daven Harmeling 20 as Washington State (8-1) improved on one of the best starts in team history before the largest crowd in more than a decade with a 77-67 victory over No. 18 Gonzaga on Tuesday night.

Dick Bennett came out of retirement to spend three years rebuilding the WSU program before turning the reins over to Tony this season.

Scheduled for surgery Thursday, the elder Bennett had talked about what a good present a Cougars victory would be heading into the ordeal, Tony said.

"He is the architect of this thing and we are all a part of it," Tony Bennett said. "Just to send him to surgery on such a good note is great."

The Cougars overcame poor free-throw shooting to break a seven-game losing streak to Gonzaga. Many in the crowd of 10,755 stormed the floor after the win.

"Our guys have never played with that many people behind them to energize them," Tony Bennett said. "They have played with 11,000 screaming against them."

Gonzaga (8-2) was led by Josh Heytvelt's 22 points, while Derek Raivio added 21.

Trailing 66-63 with 3:38 left, Washington State outscored the Bulldogs 14-1, including two three-pointers by Harmeling, for the win.

Gonzaga's high-powered offense was cruising early, taking a 37-27 lead with five minutes left in the first half.

But Washington State, tops in the Pacific 10 in defense by allowing just 58 points per game, clamped down and ground the Zags to a halt. The Cougars outscored Gonzaga 42-26 in the second half.

"We did a really, really poor job of defending in the last five minutes," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said of the decisive run. "We had a lot of silly turnovers.

"Our defense really broke down. The Cougars deserve a lot of credit."

Gonzaga committed 17 turnovers to just seven by WSU. And the Cougars overcame 18-of-29 shooting from the free-throw line, including a stretch when they missed five of six with the game on the line.

But the Cougars made 8 of 12 three-pointers in the second half to stay ahead.

After trailing 41-35 at halftime, the Cougars came out strong in the second and Kyle Weaver's three-pointer gave WSU its first lead of the game at 45-44 with 16 minutes left.

The teams swapped several leads before a 9-0 Gonzaga run, the final six by Heytvelt, gave Gonzaga a 56-49 advantage.

The Cougars missed five of six free throws during a quick span after that. But Low's three-pointer capped an 8-0 WSU run for a 63-62 lead with 4:34 left.

Heytvelt replied with two free throws and a layup to give Gonzaga a 66-63 lead.

But Washington State kicked off its closing run with two free throws by Weaver, who finished with 16 points, and Harmeling's three-pointer for a 68-66 lead with 2:44 remaining.

After the teams swapped free throws, Low made a layup and a free throw for a 72-67 lead with 1:26 left.

Raivio's three-pointer rimmed out and Harmeling sank another three-pointer for a 75-67 Washington State lead with 42 seconds left.

The crowd was the largest at WSU's Friel Court since 11,463 watched UCLA at WSU in 1995. The Cougars have not had a winning record in a decade and crowds averaged 3,700 last year.

"I got goose bumps," said Tony Bennett.

Box score

GONZAGA
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Mallon	24	2-5	2-2	1-3	1	4	7
Heytvelt	34	8-12	5-6	1-7	0	3	22
Pargo	39	3-8	5-5	0-5	4	2	11
A.-Cespedes	15	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	5	0
Raivio	39	6-12	4-4	1-4	2	1	21
Mast	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0
Bouldin	22	0-2	2-2	0-4	3	3	2
Pendergraft	18	1-2	0-0	0-4	2	2	2
Kuso	8	1-3	0-2	3-5	0	1	2
	200	21-45	18-21	6-34	12	21	67

Percentages: FG .467, FT .857. Three-point goals: 7-21, .333 (Raivio 5-11, Mallon 1-3, Heytvelt 1-4, Altidor-Cespedes 0-1, Pargo 0-2). Team rebounds: 2. Blocked shots: 2 (Mallon, Heytvelt). Turnovers: 17 (Heytvelt 4, Kuso 3, Mallon 2, Raivio 2, Bouldin 2, Pargo 2, Altidor-Cespedes 2). Steals: 0. Technical fouls: None.

WASHINGTON ST.
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Harmeling	37	6-12	4-4	0-3	2	3	20
Cowgill	27	0-2	0-3	3-8	1	4	0
Baynes	17	1-6	2-2	1-2	0	3	4
Low	38	7-14	4-5	0-2	2	1	22
Weaver	28	4-6	6-9	1-3	7	2	16
Koprivica	11	0-2	0-1	0-1	1	1	0
Rochestie	20	3-8	2-5	1-3	2	0	9
Clark	18	3-5	0-0	0-1	0	5	6
Forrest	4	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0
	200	24-56	18-29	10-28	15	19	77

Percentages: FG .429, FT .621. Three-point goals: 11-23, .478 (Low 4-8, Harmeling 4-9, Weaver 2-2, Rochestie 1-2, Koprivica 0-2). Team rebounds: 5. Blocked shots: 5 (Weaver 2, Low, Harmeling, Cowgill). Turnovers: 7 (Rochestie 2, Cowgill 2, Baynes, Koprivica). Steals: 5 (Weaver 2, Clark, Cowgill, Baynes). Technical fouls: None.

Gonzaga	41	26	—	67
Washington St.	35	42	—	77

Attendance: 10,755. Officials: Bill Kennedy, Michael Reed, Mike Scyphers.

State of shock
In Mark Few's first six seasons as head coach, Gonzaga was 11-0 against intrastate rivals Washington and Washington State. Now, in the past year and a day, the Zags have dropped two of three meetings. A look back:
Date	Opp.	Result
Nov. 29, 1999	vs. WSU	W, 73-63*
Dec. 13, 1999	vs. UW	W, 76-66**
Dec. 2, 2000	vs. UW	W, 86-74
Dec. 11, 2001	at WSU	W, 67-47
Dec. 15, 2001	vs. WSU	W, 67-44
Dec. 2, 2002	vs. UW	W, 95-89 ot
Dec. 7, 2002	at WSU	W, 110-104 ot
Dec. 3, 2003	at UW	W, 86-62
Dec. 28, 2003	vs. WSU	W, 95-58
Dec. 1, 2004	vs. UW	W, 99-87
Dec. 7, 2004	at WSU	W, 54-52
Dec. 4, 2005	at UW	L, 99-95
Dec. 8, 2005	vs. WSU	W, 67-53
Tuesday	at WSU	L, 77-67
Saturday	vs. UW	8 p.m., FSN
* Played at Spokane Arena ** Played at KeyArena