Seniors dictate play in romp that leads to Charlotte

DENVER – They had unfinished business.

So the three seniors who have taken the Cougars so far decided to take Washington State’s basketball team further than it’s been before.

To the Sweet 16, with a 61-41 thrashing of 15th-ranked Notre Dame before a sellout crowd of 19,299 in the NCAA men’s tournament’s second round at the Pepsi Center.

“Man, it feels like a dream,” said one of those seniors, Kyle Weaver, after the Cougars punched their ticket to Charlotte, N.C., site of the East Regional.

“To beat a good team like Notre Dame by 20 points in a second-round matchup, it was pretty neat,” he said.

Then the Cougars’ defensive stopper launched into an ESPN-like analysis of WSU’s stifling defense Saturday night.

“I don’t think we have any trickery or any magic that we come out with, (any) secret power,” he said. “There’s no secret. We play our pack defense, try to keep the ball out of the paint, make the opposing team shoot tough shots. As a team we did a pretty good job of that.”

Look at the numbers. They tell a story, not a complete one, but an impressive one nonetheless.

“Notre Dame shot 24.5 percent from the floor, 17.6 percent from beyond the arc. The Irish came in hitting 45.9 and 41.1, the latter sixth best in the nation;

“The Irish had seven assists on their 13 baskets. Coming in, they averaged 18.8 (the nation’s best) assists on their 28 baskets;

“The 19 points they scored in the first half was their lowest total of the season. Their total was not only the lowest this season but, by seven points, the least they have scored under 13-year coach Mike Brey;

“Their two big scorers, 6-foot-8, 250-pound Luke Harangody inside and Kyle McAlarney outside, combined to hit just 8 of 30 shots and finished with 22 points, only a point more than Harangody averages himself.

Those numbers were built on a transition defense that limited Notre Dame to two fast-break points – free throws by 6-9 Zach Hillesland, his only points.

“It started with our transition defense,” WSU coach Tony Bennett said. “No question.”

That meant the Irish offense had no answer for WSU’s best defensive effort of the season. They averaged 80 points coming in but needed two free throws with 25 seconds left to pass the Cougars’ first-round opponent Winthrop’s total (40).

“These guys bought in at a new level tonight playing against a very talented offensive team,” Bennett said. “And each one of them stepped up in their own right and was significant.”

It began with senior Derrick Low, who limited the penetration in transition of Notre Dame point guard Tory Jackson, a sophomore who came in averaging 6.0 assists a game. He finished with two – along with two of Notre Dame’s 13 turnovers.

“It started there,” Bennett said. “(Low) kept him from penetrating and he kept him off the boards.”

It continued with Taylor Rochestie limiting McAlarney’s looks from long range, where McAlarney shot 44.7 percent this year. He finished 2 of 8.

“To guard a player like that you have to be mentally prepared – prepared to guard him in transition, guard him off screens, guard him in sets, and just always be prepared and ready,” Rochestie said.

It finished inside, supplied by 6-10, 270-pound Aron Baynes and 6-10 Robbie Cowgill in the middle against Harangody, the Big East Player of the Year. The Jon Brockman look-alike finished with 22 rebounds – seven offensive – but just 10 points on 3-of-17 shooting.

“When (Baynes) can get between Luke and the basket, make him take tough shots over him, I think it was hard for (Harangody),” Cowgill said.

And hard for all the Irish. Jackson was 3 of 7, power forward Rob Kurz was 3 of 8, and three other players missed every shot they took.

“Why didn’t we shoot the ball well?” Brey asked. “No. 1, they play defense. No. 2, you’re a little tired because you play defense against them for 35 seconds.”

It was on the offensive end where the seniors – Weaver, Low and Cowgill – really shined. The three combined for 45 points, and they keyed every significant offensive run.

There was a 17-2 run early that set the tone – after Notre Dame (25-8) scored the game’s first five points – in which the trio divided up 13. There was a 6-0 senior-only burst early in the second half. There was the decider, a 16-4 spurt midway through the half after the Irish had pulled with 38-31 with 13:55 left.

Low, who finished with 18 points, started the run – and stopped a 9-0 Notre Dame rally – by working free along the baseline and hitting a 12-foot jumper.

From there Cowgill, who ended up with 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting, added two 15-foot jumpers, Weaver contributed three free throws and Low capped it with a 22-footer that broke Jan-Michael Thomas single-season school record of 89 3-pointers.

With 8:35 left, the seniors had scored all 20 of WSU’s second-half points. At that point, WSU had committed three turnovers – one on an offensive foul.

“We hold each other accountable,” said Rochestie, who had seven assists against two miscues. “Coach talks about eliminating losing. And one of the ways we can lose is by turning the ball over. Tonight we did a great job of that.”

But this was a night dominated by the seniors, Low, Cowgill and Weaver, who had highlight plays on both ends, with 15 points, nine rebounds and a block of a shot by the 6-9 Rob Kurz.

“They were incredibly important,” said junior reserve Caleb Forrest, who contributed four points and five rebounds. “Kyle on this trip has been amazing getting us together. Derrick, everybody knows how Derrick can play, and Rob really stepped up tonight and shot the ball well.

“They played like they didn’t want to go home.”

Why would they? They’ve been on the other end. Their first two years in Pullman, they were 23-33, including a last-place Pac-10 finish two years ago.

Now they are 26-8 this year and in the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history. (WSU played in the finals in 1941, when there were only eight teams in the tournament.)

“Being last in the Pac-10 to where we are now, it’s pretty hard to put into words,” Weaver said. “I think it just shows how much we’ve grown as players and as a team every year.

“This is what we dream about. This is what we’ve been working for. We put in the time, the blood, the sweat and tears, and it’s starting to pay off.”