Cougars: UW Never Trailed

except we did the things we needed to win for 40 minutes instead of 38.”

The Huskies were the aggressors from the opening tip and never trailed after going up 11-10 on a putback by David Hawken with a little more than 6 minutes gone. They raked down every important rebound, beat the Cougars to every loose ball and defended with an intensity that seemed to surprise WSU.

And they left the Cougars staring at the imposing task of having to win at least three of their last four games to make the NCAA Tournament.

“We mentioned it before the game - that it was a must-win for us,” said sophomore point guard Donminic Ellison, who did not score but handed out eight assists to pass Brad Jackson as WSU’s single-season leader. “It just puts pressure on us the rest of the year if we want to go to postseason.

“Hopefully, we can bounce back and get a couple of big victories that nobody expects us to get.”

With 13th-ranked Arizona due into Friel Court Thursday night and 15th-ranked Arizona State on deck for Saturday, the Cougars will have their chances.

But senior center David Vik might have best summed up WSU’s faint NCAA hopes when he said, “We just have to win our last four.”

Ellison, whose 147 assists are two more than the record 145 handed out by Jackson back in 1974, also had three steals and did a solid job of directing WSU’s offense.

And he ended up being on the wrong side of an official’s non-call late in the game when the issue was still very much in doubt.

The Cougars had battled back from a 48-35 second-half deficit to pull within 71-65 with a little less than 3 minutes left. Reserve forward Rob Corkrum came up with a deflection and a steal and flipped the ball ahead to Ellison, who was breaking away for an easy layin.

But Ellison slowed up just enough to let UW’s Jamie Booker catch up and the Huskies’ 6-foot-3 sophomore guard came up with a crucial block from behind.

It appeared Ellison had put the ball on the backboard before Booker touched it, but the officials waved off a goaltending call and let the block stand.

That infuriated Eastman, who refused to comment on the play after the game.

Ellison said he thought the ball had hit the backboard before the block.

“I always lay the ball up and then tap the backboard,” he explained, “and the ball hit the backboard before my hand did. It was a call that could have gone the other way, but that was only two points.

“It was a tough call, but one call shouldn’t make us or break us.”

Washington 78, WSU 72

WASHINGTON STATE (14-9)

Hendrickson 8-10 3-6 20, Mack 4-4 0-0 8, Fontaine 3-9 3-4 10, Antrum 5-12 3-3 13, Ellison 0-6 0-0 0, Griffin 4-5 0-0 9, Corkrum 4-4 0-0 8, Vik 2-2 0-0 4, Daniel 0-1 0-2 0. Totals 30-53 9-15 72.

WASHINGTON (8-15)

Sanford 6-15 5-9 17, Booker 6-9 3-5 16, Hawken 2-5 2-2 6, Hamilton 1-6 3-5 5, Boston 10-21 0-2 21, Hartman 4-8 2-2 11, Lopez 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 30-65 15-25 78.

Halftime-Washington 41, washington St. 35. 3-point goals-Washington St. 3-11 (Hendrickson 1-1, Griffin 1-1, Fontaine 1-3, Antrum 0-3, Ellison 0-3). Washington 3-9 (Booker 1-1, Hartman 1-1, Boston 1-4, Sanford 0-3). Fouled out- Mack, Hawken. Rebounds-Washington St. 28 (Antrum 7), Washington 36 (Hawken 12). Assists-Washington St. 21 (Ellison 8), Washington 14 (Hamilton 5). Total fouls-Washington St. 20, Washington 19. A-7,900.