
The Cougars (men’s team) made the most of only their fifth home game of the season Thursday, pounding Oregon State 69-46 behind 17 points by Aron Baynes and 15 by Derrick Low.
Oregon State (6-11, 0-5) lost its seventh straight game, another blow for embattled coach Jay John.
“I work independently of what others say and write,” John said. “I have a job to do and I can’t let negative comments interfere.”

It was the Pac-10 home opener for Washington State, and came in front of 10,000 fans at Friel Court. The Cougars have played so few games here this season because they hosted a three-game tournament in nearby Spokane, and played another game in Seattle.

Low’s 15 points gave him 1,012 in his career and made him the 28th WSU player to reach that milestone.
Rochestie had nine assists and added nine points for Washington State, which shot 51 percent and made 9 of 18 3-pointers to win its 13th straight home game.
Washington State led 34-24 at
halftime, and then scored the first 10 points of the second half, five by Low, for a 44-24 advantage
Oregon State did not score for the first 5:40 of the second half, until Roeland Schaftenaar’s basket cut the deficit to 44-26.
Low’s 3-pointer capped an 8-0 run that lifted WSU to a 54-28 lead, at which point the Cougars had made 8 of 10 field goal attempts in the second half, including four 3-pointers.
Next up for Washington State is Oregon on Sunday. The Ducks have won 13 straight games against Washington State, dating to 2001, and no member of this team has beaten them.

For related news articles on the men’s game, click on the following links:
* 1-17-08 (video) KXLY-TV — Washington State has no problems in 69-46 win over Oregon State, http://www.kxly.com/Global/story.asp?S=7739518&nav=menu683_4_9
* 1-17-08 (videos) KREM TV — Videos of wSU-OSU game
* 1-17-08 (videos) KHQ-TV — videos of WSU-OSU game
/cougars/2004131648_webcoug17.html
* 1-18-08 Seattle Post-Intelligencer — WSU back on track in Pac-10, http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/cbasketball/347863_coug18.html
