WSU-OSU: Cougars Frustrate Beavers

Washington State traveled to Corvallis and brought their solid game with them.  Though it wasn’t their best effort of the season, a look up at the scoreboard—final buzzer sounding in the background—showed WSU 70-OSU 57. 

The Beavers played with tremendous enthusiasm, pressure, and intensity—but that just wasn’t enough against an experienced team like the Cougars.

Both Taylor Rochestie and Derrick Low enjoyed terrific offensive nights.  Rochestie led all scorers with 24 points and a sizzling 7-12 shooting from the floor.  Yes, that’s a career mark for Taylor.  His counterpoint at guard, Low, ran the floor to work for good shots and was rewarded with 21 points.

No other Cougs managed to reach double figures, though Robbie Cowgill and Aron Baynes each chipped in nine apiece.  Cowgill pulled down 11 rebounds, Baynes grabbed eight.

The real difference was made by Coach Tony Bennett's getting his team to play his game.  WSU controlled the pace throughout and forced the Beavers to take off-balance shots time and time again.  Oregon State was just 22 percent from the field in the first half, ending the game at a dismal 32 percent.  Ouch!  Pretty frustrating.

Oregon State worked really hard on the boards.  They actually grabbed more rebounds than the Cougs, 36-34, but then again they had a lot more chances because of their poor shooting.  On more than one occasion, they out-hustled WSU to track down an errant shot.

Hustle.  That’s a great one-word description of the OSU effort.  The Beavers fell to 0-12 in PAC-10 play, but last week both Stanford and Cal escaped Corvallis with wins to warn the rest of the conference that Oregon State is a much better team than is made evident by their record.

Frustrated.  The matchup was understandably frustrating for Interim Coach Kevin Mouton and the rest of the Beavers.  They left everything they had on the court, and still it wasn’t enough this time around. 

Mouton was so frustrated he was called for a technical foul.  Fortunately the “T” had no effect on the outcome.  But is there a trend developing here?  This is WSU's second game in a row against in which the opposing coach was whistled for a technical foul.

Poise.  That sums up the game for Washington State.  They just kept playing a tenacious defense and half court offense.  When the officials' calls weren’t going in their favor, they simply walked away. 

Well, not every call was a matter of walking away.  Baynes took a shoulder to the family jewels, a painful injury.  But that wasn’t enough.  Baynes was writhing on the floor in pain, then insulted when whistled for a foul. 

Now there’s a violation that might take some research into the rule book: blocking a player with your crotch.  Oh my.  Not likely that many players are going to add that move to their game!

Great effort by Washington State.  Great win.

GO COUGS!!!