PULLMAN – Washington State held Jon Brockman far below his typical production, and Washington didn’t let either Taylor Rochestie or Aron Baynes take over.
So, with the game’s three biggest stars neutralized, Saturday’s Apple Cup of basketball was there to be won by the team that got the biggest contributions from other players.
That turned out to be Washington, and the players doing the damage were Isaiah Thomas, Justin Dentmon and Quincy Pondexter, among others.
They combined to turn a game that was close at halftime into a 68-48 blowout in the Pacific-10 Conference opener for both schools, ending WSU’s seven-game win streak over the Huskies.
“I could not be prouder of our guys,” UW coach Lorenzo Romar said. “This is the type of effort that we’ve talked about since October – a solid effort. I thought we played smart. I thought we played hard. I thought we hit big shots. We came up with big defensive plays when we needed to. … When we go on the road in a tough situation, we have to be mentally tough, and I thought tonight we were.”
The first half was a typical UW-WSU struggle. Even though the Cougars came into the game with the seven consecutive wins in the series, the past four had come by an average of 5.25 points. That kind of margin seemed in store again Saturday as the Huskies led, 30-28, after 20 minutes.
“The one thing at halftime I really tried to challenge them with is, ‘You’re going to have to win this with your defense,’ ” WSU coach Tony Bennett said. “And (UW) come out and hit at one point 10 of 15 shots. They got certainly some good looks. They made some tough plays. But when our defense is giving up that kind of percentage, that will be a long night for us.”
Once the WSU defense began sputtering, the Cougars’ offense drifted from patient to timid. For long stretches of the second half, the Cougars didn’t seem to be looking for a better shot but merely looking for someone willing to take a shot.
“I think a lot of what Washington State basketball is all about is getting motivated, getting pumped up on the defensive end,” Rochestie said. “When you’re not getting stops and you’re a defensive team, I think that plays a role offensively.”
Washington (10-3) bought some breathing room with a 9-0 run early in the second half – a significant achievement given WSU’s deliberate style.
However, the Cougars (8-5) had one more run in them, and they seemed to be igniting it midway through the second half as they halved a 10-point deficit to five. That got the fans of 8,107 at Friel Court back into the game.
But they were hushed in a heartbeat as Dentmon nailed a 3-pointer. Then redshirt freshman Darnell Gant outhustled WSU for an offensive rebound, putting back a Pondexter miss.
In less than a minute, the Huskies had restored their lead to double digits, and they ended the game on a 22-7 run.
“I think (the UW defense) was real similar to what they did in the past,” WSU senior Caleb Forrest said. “The big difference is we don’t have the guys last year who were able to create on their own.”
WSU was led by Rochestie’s 12 points and Baynes’ 11.
Meanwhile, Brockman was held to 10 points and four rebounds – his fewest rebounds and third-fewest points of the season. But the difference was more than made up by Thomas, the former Curtis High star who scored a game-high 19 in his first Pac-10 game; Dentmon, who scored 17 and was 4-for-4 on 3-pointers; and Pondexter, who had 16 points and a game-high seven rebounds.
“The good thing about this team is that no one cares who gets the shot,” Brockman said. “It’s a team effort. We don’t care about the point scoring and rebounding – as long as we get the ball; then, mission accomplished. Justin did a great job of knocking down shots. That gave us a huge boost; our guys just shot it really well.”
Don Ruiz: 253-597-8808
blogs.thenewstribune.com/uwsports
GAME IN REVIEW
WASHINGTON 68, WASHINGTON STATE 48
Star of the game: Washington senior Justin Dentmon scored 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field, including 4-of-4 on 3-point shots. He also contributed four assists, four rebounds and a steal.
Key stats: Washington ended a seven-game losing streak to Washington State. ... UW put the game away in the second half when the Huskies shot 50 percent and limited the Cougars to 36 percent. … Against the packed-in WSU defense, the Huskies had one of their best outside shooting games (6-of-11 on 3-pointers, 54.5 percent). … UW out-rebounded WSU, 36-20. … UW forward Jon Brockman had four rebounds, his fewest of the season.
Key run: Washington State had cut Washington’s 10-point lead to five midway through the second half. Just as the fans sensed the Cougars were making a run, Dentmon silenced them with a 3-pointer. Then Darnell Gant scored on an offensive rebound of a Quincy Pondexter miss, and suddenly the Huskies were up by 10 again.
UW quote: “It felt great. I haven’t been a part of the 0-7 (losing streak to WSU), but coming into the game I knew it was a big game: my first Pac-10 game, personally. I just wanted to come out and do whatever I can to give my team the W.” – freshman Isaiah Thomas.
WSU quote: “When it comes down to it, we’ve been letting games slip away, and we’ve got to figure out some way to fix that.” – senior Caleb Forrest.
Next for UW: 7:30 p.m. Thursday vs. Stanford, Hec Edmundson Pavilion.
Next for WSU: 7 p.m. Thursday, vs. California, Friel Court.
Don Ruiz, The News Tribune
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