Vandy, not WSU, tastes sweet smell of success by making biggest plays

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Cougars could taste the Sweet 16. They just couldn’t hang onto their place in it.

Washington State, in a game that served as a fittingly thrilling end to a remarkable season, had more than its fair share of chances but couldn’t convert any of them into a victory in Saturday’s second-round NCAA tournament game.

Instead, Vanderbilt won 78-74 in two overtimes and will move on to the regional semifinals, winning what was surely the most dramatic NCAA tournament game thus far in 2007 – and one that could well maintain that title right through the championship game on April 2.

“I’m proud of our guys. I am,” WSU coach Tony Bennett said. “I’m hurting right now. I feel the sting and am a little numb. If I watch the tape, when I watch the tape, I’ll struggle a little bit.”

The Cougars completed their season 26-8, having never lost two in a row but having failed to win two in a row on this national stage.

They led 33-25 at halftime, and even after failing to score from the field in the final 7-plus minutes of regulation they still had a chance to win.

But Daven Harmeling’s open 3-pointer from the right corner skipped off the rim, and a first chance at victory was gone.

At the end of the first overtime, WSU watched as another shot slipped away – or was swatted away. Taylor Rochestie, having made a steal in the backcourt, streaked toward the bucket in the final 10 seconds of a tie game. Vanderbilt star Derrick Byars, who had just three blocks all season, ran up from behind and managed to add a fourth with 3 seconds left.

“They made more plays at the end, which is something we can learn from,” WSU junior Robbie Cowgill said. “They kept their composure throughout the whole time and really never panicked even when we had close to a double-digit lead in the second.”

Finally, in the second overtime, the Cougars’ mistakes caught up to them. A team that prided itself on protecting the basketball turned it over 19 times, and the second of three Kyle Weaver turnovers in the that last session allowed Vanderbilt’s Shan Foster a breakaway dunk and a two-possession lead.

Having closed the deficit to two points with one last chance, sophomore guard Rochestie, who like Weaver had one of his lesser games this season, attempted a 3-pointer at the top of the key that missed and led to a Vanderbilt layup that sealed WSU’s fate.

Weaver and Rochestie combined for 13 of the Cougars’ 19 turnovers.

“All those guys have made plays like that and won those games for us in the season. It didn’t happen today,” Bennett said. “Some of the guys, we were trying to be aggressive and make some things happen. And then sometimes a mistake adds to another one. I just think we were maybe uncharacteristic in forcing it too much.”

The Commodores (22-11) helped get themselves back into the game by making 10 3-pointers, including six in a row early in the second half. With the win, they advance to play Georgetown in East Rutherford, N.J., on Saturday.

“It was probably the best game I’ve ever played in,” said Byars, who had a game-high 27 points.

Derrick Low nearly matched Byars shot for shot at the other end, scoring 21 points. But in the game’s biggest moments, WSU rarely got the ball into the junior guard’s hands, and his teammates didn’t make the necessary plays to win the game and extend the season into next week.

Had it prevailed, WSU would have set a school record for wins in a season and claimed a second NCAA tournament win in a season for only the second time.

“This year, it’s gone,” Cowgill said. “There are a lot of emotions. You put so much into it. The whole team did – stuck together through down years and hard times and workouts.

“I’m sure in a couple of days, a week, however long, we’ll be able to look back and be proud of what we did. Right now, it’s tough not to look at that Sweet Sixteen and think we were almost there.”