No. 8 Coug men’s team beats OSU

By Communications staff, Washington State University
 
 
PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) – For an elite basketball team, No. 8 Washington State hasn’t played many home games.

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.

 
“It’s good to be home,” said Baynes, who made 6 of 8 field goals.
 
The WSU men’s team (15-1, 3-1 Pac-10), coming off its only loss of the season at UCLA, broke open the game at the start of the second half, outscoring the Beavers 20-4 in the first nine minutes.
 
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.”

The Beavers made just 7 of 21 field goals in the second half, and 41 percent for the game. They were outrebounded 33-17. Seth Tarver led them with 12 points, while brother Josh had 10. The 46 points tied the OSU season low set last weekend against Stanford.
 

 
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.
 
“It feels so good to come back home and play,” Low said, “and have people cheering for you every single time.”

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.

“I want to beat them so bad,” Low said.
 
The WSU women’s team, on the road in Eugene, Ore., didn’t fair as well. The women dropped a 64-45 contest to Oregon at McArthur Court, Thursday, falling to 3-14 on the season and 0-6 in the Pacific-10 Conference. The Ducks improved to 9-8 overall and 3-3 in league play.  For a full story on the women’s game, go to http://wsucougars.cstv.com/sports/w-baskbl/recaps/011808aaa.html
 

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

* 1-17-08 Seattle Times — Cougars use second half burst to burn Beavers, 69-46, http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html
/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

* Everett Herald — Cougars pounce on Beavers, http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080118/SPORTS/168642227/1004/SPORTS

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