No Place Like Home: McCarthey turns 10

Truth be told, Adam Morrison liked the old Kennel, now remaindered to volleyball just a few feet to the west. “Loved it,” he said. “It was so loud, and you had the general admission part that kind of amped things up – and the Kennel Club wasn’t university sponsored then, so you know what they were up to beforehand.”

10/23/2004 Opens to the public with a dedication and scrimmage.

The first appearance of a ranked team (No. 14 UW) in McCarthey coupled with a crackling rivalry -- highlighted by Derek Raivio drilling five 3s, with eight assists and no turnovers against Husky pressure. “I don’t think we are in their heads,” says Ronny Turiaf, who had 23 points and 13 rebounds in a seventh straight win over UW. “Maybe you should ask them and they would tell you yes.”

The most harrowing game in the best season of McCarthey thrillers sees the Zags come back from 15 points down in final 14 minutes of the WCC Tournament championship. But they still have to survive LMU’s Chris Ayer missing a layup at the buzzer. “He just kind of doinked it, I guess,” said Erroll Knight, who insisted he didn’t block it.

First meeting of both schools being ranked (WSU 8, GU 17). Taylor Rochestie’s 3-pointer with 28.6 seconds left is the clinching bucket in a tense, defensive masterpiece, in which the Zags shoot just 26 percent. It’s WSU first win over a ranked non-conference opponent on the road.

Kelly Olynyk (31 points) and the Zags couldn’t have been better in building a 20-point lead, and the Gaels couldn’t have been more determined in wiping it out, coming within a missed 3-pointer by Matthew Dellavedova of tying it with eight seconds left.

Adam Morrison goes for 34 points, but it’s his pass to Pierre Marie Altidor-Cespedes for a 3-pointer with two seconds left that allows the Zags to cap a 14-0 WCC season. Erroll Knight’s block of a potential go-ahead layup by Armondo Surratt sets the stage for Morrison’s “one and only assist.” Asked if he was surprised to be on the receiving end, a nonplussed P-Mac said, “Why?”

J.P. Batista becomes GU’s Willis Reed, coming back from a first-half knee sprain when the Zags blow a 10-point halftime lead in his absence. He scores 21 points and grabs 13 rebounds in between breaks on an exercise bike, but the Bulldogs still have to overcome a buzzer-beating layup by Cory Belzer that sends the game into overtime.

Courtney Vandersloot had 34 points and Kayla Standish 30 in this racehorse victory in the first NCAA Tournament played in the McCarthey, starting a run that would take the Zags to the Elite Eight. The visitors made 13 3-pointers to keep a crowd of 5,632 on the edge of their seats.