Cougars’ OT loss will stand

A controversial technical foul that cost Washington State a basketball victory over Oregon will not be overturned. A review by the Pacific-10 Conference concluded the foul call was correct, so Oregon’s win stands.

“It’s all done,” Dave Hirsch, head of men’s basketball for the conference, said Thursday.

Washington State appeared to have won the Dec. 31 game in Pullman by scoring with 0.3 of a second left in the first overtime. Several WSU bench players and at least one fan stepped onto the court.

The game officials ruled that bench players stepping onto the court prevented continuous play, and awarded Oregon a technical foul and two free throws. The free throws sent the game into a second overtime, and the Ducks won 91-89.

Washington State Director of Athletics Jim Sterk, in a letter to WSU boosters, said the team had no other appeal.

“At this point we have no other recourse but to abide by the conference’s interpretation and move forward,” Sterk said.

If not for the incident, Washington State (14-5, 4-3 Pac-10) would be tied for the conference lead.

Cougars fans did not dispute that some players stepped onto the court. But they contended the officials should have cleared the court and allowed the Ducks to inbound the ball.

Sterk said officials for the Pac-10, including Hirsch, commissioner Larry Scott and officiating coordinator Bill McCabe, reviewed video of the incident.