No Stopping Cougars This Time WSU Tops Texas Tech In Nit Opener, Blistering Nets At 67 Percent Clip

The last time Washington State played this late into the night, some weird things happened in the final minute and it ended up losing to Arizona in double overtime.

That might explain the cloud of apprehension that hung so heavily over Friel Court Wednesday night as the Cougars tried to close the deal in the final seconds of their first-round National Invitation Tournament game against Texas Tech.

This time, there was no Damon Stoudamire to shoot down WSU’s upset bid and the Cougars held on to trip the Red Raiders 94-82 in a game that featured sensational shooting and end-to-end excitement.

In the end, Isaac Fontaine and his teammates simply weren’t ready to put the basketballs away for the season.

Fontaine finished with 32 points and three other Cougars scored in double figures as WSU raised its overall record to 17-11 and advanced to the second round of the tournament, where it will face the winner of tonight’s Illinois State-Utah State game on either Monday or Tuesday.

The site of that game has not yet been determined. However, Cougars athletic director Rick Dickson said he is looking into the possibility of playing a second-round game in Spokane. WSU students will be on spring break next week.

“If we are in Spokane, we have a good opportunity just last last year for the Alabama game, to sell that place (the Coliseum) out,” said WSU coach Kevin Eastman.

The 5,200 friendly followers who showed up Wednesday played a major role in the outcome. Tech’s Cory Carr had just made a pair of free throws to give the Red Raiders a 68-67 lead - their first since early in the game - with 8:45 left.

But the crowd got on its feet moments later when Fontaine scored on an acrobatic drive, and it stayed there the rest of the game as the Cougars outscored Tech 25-14 the rest of the way.

Mark Hendrickson finished with 19 points for WSU, Tavares Mack added 18 and Donminic Ellison chipped in 15, along with seven assists.

It didn’t hurt, either, that the Cougars shot a remarkable 66.7 percent from the field, hitting 32 of their 48 field-goal tries.

The Red Raiders, who tied Texas for the regular-season Southwest Conference title before ending their season at 20-10, shot 61 percent but couldn’t hang in down the stretch.

Lance Hughes led Tech with 23 points, followed by Jason Sasser, with 17. The Raiders’ Mark Davis, who came in averging 17.9 points a game, was held to just two.

Hughes, one of only two senior starters for Tech, marveled at WSU’s shooting.

“It was really frustrating out there,” the 6-foot-4 guard said. “It seemed like we were hanging with them, but then there came a time in the first half when it clicked in my mind that everything they were throwing up was going in.

“You can get in a zone like that and there’s nothing the other team can do about it,” Hughes added. “They just picked a good night to get in it.”

WSU built a 50-43 halftime lead behind shooting that was just short of phenomenal. The Cougars made 18 of 26 field-goal attempts (69.2 percent), including eight in row during one 10-minute stretch.

Chris Griffin clanked a short jumper with 9:51 remaining in the half, but the Cougars didn’t miss again under a Fontaine airballed a baseline jump shot in the final minute.

Hendrickson made all six shots he took, including two 3-pointers, and Ellison was a perfect 3 for 3 from the field. Fontaine was 6 for 9 from the field and scored 17 points. Hendrickson finished the half with 14.The Raiders were 17 of 28 from the floor, with Martin draining three of the four shots he attempted. Sasser finished the half with 10 points, and Hughes added nine.

Washington St. 94, Texas Tech 82 TEXAS TECH (20-10)

Sasser 6-12 3-4 17, Davis 1-5 0-0 2, Ham 3-5 3-5 9, Hughes 8-15 3-4 23, Martin 5-6 1-2 12, Smith 0-1 0-0 0, Collins 1-3 0-0 3, Carr 4-10 3-6 13, Battie 0-0 0-0 0, Cooper 1-2 1-2 3. Totals 29-59 14-23 82.

WASHINGTON ST. (17-11)

Hendrickson 7-10 3-4 19, Mack 7-11 4-6 18, Fontaine 11-14 9-10 32, Antrum 2-5 2-3 8, Ellison 5-6 4-6 15, Griffin 0-1 0-0 0, Daniel 0-1 0-0 0, Corkrum 0-0 2-2 2, Vik 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-48 22-31 94.

Halftime-Washingtson St. 50, Texas Tech 43. 3-Point goals- Texas Tech 10-27 (Hughes 4-9, Sasser 2-5, Carr 2-6, Martin 1-2, Collins 1-3, Davis 0-1, Smith 0-1), Washington St. 6-10 (Hendrickson 2-3, Antrum 2-4, Fontaine 1-1, Ellison 1-2). Fouled out-Davis. Rebounds-Texas Tech 30 (Davis, Ham 6), Washington St. 25 (Hendrickson, Mack 6). Assists-Texas Tech 15 (Sasser 4), Washington St. 16 (Ellison 7). Total fouls-Texas Tech 25, Washington St. 20. A-5,200.