Cougars Trip Asu To Snap Losing Ways

For the time being, Mark Hendrickson is calling Thursday night’s 72-58 win over Arizona State one small step for a struggling Washington State men’s basketball team.

But if Hendrickson and his teammates can hold the confidence charge generated by their lopsided victory, it could prove to be a giant leap for Cougarkind come March.

“We played more like the team we want to play like,” the 6-foot-9 senior forward said after his 16 points and nine rebounds helped WSU snap a three-game losing streak and raise its record to 9-7 overall and 2-6 in the Pacific-10 Conference.

“We’re happy but we’re not satisfied, because there’s a long way to go to get back to where we want to be. And this was only one game.”

The next one comes Saturday afternoon in Tucson, Ariz., against 14th-ranked Arizona. WSU hasn’t won at McKale Center since 1984, but there is a renewed sense of confidence among WSU players heading into the 2 p.m. matchup, which will be televised live by ABC-TV (Channel 4) in Spokane.

“I definitely feel good about our chances,” said Isaac Fontaine, who fought off a mild case of frostbite from the sub-zero temperatures back in Pullman to score a game-high 18 points and grab 11 rebounds. “After you’re on a losing streak, a win can do wonders for a team.

“And personally, (McKale) is my favorite away gym to play in. It’s a nice place, so I’m going to come out hyped up and ready to play. And I think everyone else will, too - especially coming off this win.”

The Cougars came out hyped against the Sun Devils (7-9 and 2-6) and took a modest University Activity Center crowd of 8,964 out of the game early.

It was effort, according to coach Kevin Eastman, that allowed his team to scratch out a 32-28 halftime lead despite its lingering shooting woes. And it was effort that kept ASU from sustaining its only challenge of the second half - a 19-9 run that produced a brief 47-44 Sun Devils lead.

“We did what we felt was important in terms of winning the game,” Eastman explained, “and that was (winning) the rebounding war and contesting 3-point shots. We got some steals, we kept them from getting runs, and that’s all effort-oriented.”

The Cougars, after making only 8 of 26 field-goal tries in the first half, shot nearly 50 percent (15 for 31) in the second half and outscored ASU 20-6 in the final 7 minutes of the game.

They did a splendid job of shutting down the Sun Devils’ outside shooting, limiting Ron Riley to 15 points and Jeremy Veal to 13.

And they made free throws - lots of them, which is something they did not do in home losses to California and Stanford.

WSU converted on 24 of 32 foul shots, while ASU made just 4 of 10. The Sun Devils also seemed to catch some of the Cougars’ shooting ills from the floor, making only 25 of 65 attempts.

“The difference in the game was that we didn’t knock down our shots when we needed to,” said ASU coach Bill Frieder, sounding a lot like Eastman did last weekend. “We had a lead (with) under 10 (minutes left) and then we went a long stretch without a basket, and you just can’t do that in this game, at this level.”

The Sun Devils also had problems scoring and defending inside. And Carlos Daniel helped Hendrickson exploit the weakness.

The 6-6 sophomore scored 14 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, earning praise from Hendrickson and Eastman.

“He showed we’re not just a one-man team on the inside,” Hendrickson said. “We have another guy that can get it done, and it showed tonight.”

“Daniel is doing a really good job on the offensive end in terms of making shots,” added Eastman. “And then tonight, I thought he played some of his better defense.”

Washington St. 72, Arizona St. 58

Washington St. (9-7) - Daniel 7-15 0-2 14, Fontaine 6-15 5-6 18, Hendrickson 3-5 9-12 16, Ellison 3-9 2-3 8, Antrum 3-8 6-7 12, Scott 0-1 0-0 0, Mack 1-3 2-2 4, Jackson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-57 24-32 72.

Arizona St. (7-9) - Riley 5-16 3-4 15, Zaletel 2-5 1-2 5, Oziwo 1-1 0-0 2, Veal 6-18 0-0 13, Brewer 5-7 0-2 10, Farrington 3-10 0-2 6, Holly 2-6 0-0 5, Richardson 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 25-65 4-10 58.

Halftime-Washington St. 32, Arizona St. 32. 3-Point Goals- Washington St. 2-12 (Hendrickson 1-1, Fontaine 1-5, Ellison 0-3, Antrum 0-3), Arizona St. 4-19 (Riley 2-7, Holly 1-5, Veal 1-7). Fouled Out-Zaletel, Brewer. Rebounds-Washington St. 45 (Daniel 12), Arizona St. 38 (Brewer 9). Assists-Washington St. 15 (Antrum 6), Arizona St. 13 (Brewer 5). Total Fouls- Washington St. 11, Arizona St. 22. A-8,964.

, DataTimes