COUGARS • UPDATED: 10 P.M.

With Aron Baynes dominating inside – 18 points and nine rebounds – and Taylor Rochestie controlling the perimeter on both offense and defense – 11 points, five assists and limiting Mac Hopson to 10 points – the Cougars raised their record to 8-3 with a 55-41 win over Idaho. Read on for the unedited version of my story that will appear in tomorrow's S-R.

I have to head back to Pullman and I understand it's going to be a slow drive, so I'll post my thoughts on the game either later tonight or tomorrow morning. Check back in then.
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MOSCOW – For 30 minutes, the Idaho Vandals gave their Pac-10 neighbors from the west all they could handle.

But college basketball games, even ones played in a half-empty arena on a snow-drift type of night, are 40 minutes long. And those last 10 minutes Sunday were all Washington State.

"I thought they just kind of wore us down in the last 10 minutes," Idaho coach Don Verlin said after WSU scored 16 of the games final 19 points en route to a 55-41 win over Idaho before 1,618 in the Cowan Spectrum.

It's little wonder.

The Vandals had finished a win over Texas Southern about 24 hours before the 264th renewal of the West's longest-running continuous rivalry tipped off.

WSU (8-3), in contrast, last played a week ago.

"(Playing Saturday) took its wear on us a little bit," Idaho guard Mac Hopson said. "I felt it a little bit, you know, to be honest. ... I think it was hard on our legs. But it's not an excuse for that. We've got to buckle down and do our jobs."

Add in the physical nature of the game – "The refs let us play today, which was good," said the Cougars' Aron Baynes – and the Vandals simply wore down.

Baynes played a huge part in that.

The 6-foot-10, 250-pound senior bumped and battled all night with UI's 6-10, 235-pound Marvin Jefferson, with the two combining for just five fouls in the loosely called contest, the three on Jefferson all whistled in a 1-minute stretch near the end.

Went the dust cleared, Baynes had a season-high 18 points. He took a career-high 15 shots, making nine. It was all part of WSU's design.

"The seniors have been challenged by coach," Baynes said of his offensive output. "We have to be (better) leaders the rest of the year than we have been out there. That's one of the keys for myself, knowing I can be more of a presence down there.

"If I make a couple plays it will open things up for the rest of the guys."

"They made some great adjustments in the second half," Verlin said. "They came out and went to Aron Baynes and basically we couldn't get him stopped in the second half and that was difference in the game."

He was, as was the all-round play of point guard Taylor Rochestie.

Matched up against former Cougar Hopson – the two battled for playing time two years ago, with Rochestie finally winning a starting spot – Rochestie played all 40 minutes, scored 11 points, had five assists and a lone turnover. He also hit 4 of his 6 shots inside the arc, though his long-range struggles continued, as he was 1 of 5 from outside.

More importantly Rochestie didn't allow Hopson, averaging a team-high 16.9 points a game, to get off in transition – the Vandals didn't have a fast-break bucket – or in the half-court.

"He really stepped up to the plate defensively and took care of business there," said Baynes, whose nine rebounds helped WSU to a 37-28 edge, 20-9 in the second half. "That allowed the rest of the team to make plays on the glass. It was phenomenal seeing Taylor out there playing that kind of 'D.' "

Hopson finished with a full stat line – 10 points, six rebounds, six assists and zero turnovers – but never got to the rim against Rochestie and the Cougars' help defense.

"We worked hard on that, keeping the ball out of the lane," WSU coach Tony Bennett said. "Where we were a little shaky in the first half was just on the edge in transition. ... They got some wide-open looks. In the second half we handle screens better and we really focused on working to keep the ball out of the lane."

The Vandals (6-6) actually shot better in the second half than they did in the first (33.3 percent vs. 29.6) but not in the last 11 minutes. In the game-deciding stretch they were 1 for 11.

"We missed some layups and against a good team you can't miss opportunities," Verlin said. "We had some shots at the basket that were pretty close in and we didn't finish them."

With WSU leading 39-38 after Hopson's last basket with 10:59 left, Nik Koprivica hit his only shot of the night, a 3-pointer off one of Klay Thompson's four assists.

Jefferson – just 2 of 9 but with 10 rebounds – and Kashif Watson – 4 of 13 from the floor for nine points – combined to miss three shots inside 2 feet, giving the Cougars, who wasted three possessions, a chance to catch their breath.

With Idaho in a zone, Thompson launched a 3-pointer from the right side that hit the rim and bounded into the air. The WSU bigs were blocked out, but freshman Marcus Capers, celebrating his 19th birthday, came flying in from the left side and tipped in the miss.

The Cougars led by six, 8 minutes remained, and WSU's first road game of the season was basically over.

"The whole top was open so I thought I might as well just crash it," said Capers, who had four points and four rebounds in a 13-minute stint. "I was like, 'yes, please get in,' and I got it. It paid off."

"That's the thing about these young kids," Bennett said. "I'm so happy when a guy like Marcus tastes success."

Now WSU will taste some Cajun cooking, taking a few days off for Christmas before leaving on the 25th for Louisiana and 8-1 LSU, its last nonconference game, on Dec. 27.

"I thought today we did a pretty decent job for 20 minutes," Rochestie said. "But to be able to play in the Pac-10, you've got to put together as close to 40 minutes as possible."

Just ask the Vandals.

UPDATE: Back in Pullman safely – it was a slow drive but except for a couple streets, pretty well plowed – so I thought I would share a few thoughts about WSU's win. Read on …

It's rare lately when the term NCAA-caliber is thrown around by one of the participants about a WSU-Idaho basketball game. But that was the case Sunday night.

Of course, Tony Bennett was talking about the officiating and the way there were only 15 personal fouls called – the term "let them play" was used by a lot people – including just four in the first half (looking back, I believe the officials – David Hall, Randy McCall and Rick Batsell – blew their whistles to stop play only five times in the first 20 minutes). This was a physical game from the opening possessions to the final horn. But there are Pac-10 games like that in the near future, so Bennett was pleased.

He was also pleased in the way his team toughed out a win against a highly motivated, well-coached foe. This Idaho team isn't anything like the ones of recent vintage. This one plays hard on both ends, executes its offense and has some decent offensive talent. They aren't a NCAA tournament team but my guess is Don Verlin – a Stew Morrill disciple – will get them there soon. Mac Hopson said he liked the way the Vandals fought, something he thinks they are getting better at.

But back to the Cougars. For them to be successful in the Pac-10, they have to start shooting better from the perimeter. Let's look at the 3-point shooting numbers: Klay Thompson, 1 of 4; Taylor Rochestie, 1 of 5; Daven Harmeling, 1 of 4. As a team WSU was 4 of 16. The Cougars need to shoot nearly 40 percent from there if they want to take the next step.

Rochestie said it felt good to finally make a 3 (part of WSU's 10-0 run that put the game away), but he also lamented two he missed when he had all day to shoot. It's an area WSU needs to improve.

Rebounding was another area that Bennett wanted to improve, so he started Caleb Forrest at the 4 (his first start since March of his freshman year) and moved Daven Harmeling to the 3. He wanted to see if they could guard those positions against a smaller, quicker team. The results were mixed. Forrest did a nice job on Brandon Wiley, but when UI went to 6-7 Luciano de Souza, a rangy shooter with no conscience, Forrest struggled and Bennett went to three guards – Rochestie, Thompson and Marcus Capers – a lineup he professed to like. Still, the Cougars rebounded better, especially in the second half when they outhustled a tired UI team to a lot of 50-50 balls (Rochestie had six, a season high).

That's all I've got tonight. I'm sure there is more, but I'm ready to call it a day.

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• That's it for now. Check back later. Till then …

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