Daniel Does In Dawgs Sophomore Forward’s Big Outing Helps WSU Avenge Loss In Seattle

Carlos Daniel proved there was, indeed, an upside to having Mark Hendrickson out of the lineup for almost four weeks earlier this season.

The sophomore forward, who was asked to grow up in a hurry after Hendrickson broke his shooting hand, stepped up Saturday like the young veteran he has become and played a huge role in Washington State’s 76-66 win over Washington.

A Friel Court crowd of 7,058 saw Daniel throw in a career-high 17 points and grab six rebounds - several in emphatic fashion - as the Cougars (13-8 overall and 5-7 in the Pacific-10 Conference) held off a frantic, late-game Huskies charge and avenged a loss in Seattle.

UW (14-7, 7-4) lost for the third time in four games despite some unconscious long-range shooting in the final 5 minutes. The Huskies, who got 17 points from Jason Hartman, were hurt by the limited production of Mark Sanford, who was held out of the starting lineup for academic negligence.

UW coach Bob Bender said he disciplined his scoring and rebounding leader for missing classes “and other appointments.” The 6-foot-8 sophomore, who scored 27 points in UW’s 85-71 blistering of the Cougars last month, entered the game with just more than 5 minutes gone, but picked up a couple of quick fouls and did not score in the first half.

Sanford made 4 of 7 3-point attempts after intermission, however, and finished with 12 points.

Daniel made 7 of 10 field-goal attempts and did most of his offensive damage on aggressive inside moves against UW’s massive front line.

“Carlos really came to play,” WSU coach Kevin Eastman said after watching his team win its fourth in a row and push itself into the background of the postseason tournament picture.

“He was springy. He really wanted the basketball, and we were able to do some things to stick it inside.”

Hendrickson, who missed the earlier UW game while he was injured, had 15 points and 13 rebounds for his 38th career double-double. But he, too, heaped praise on Daniel.

“He’s finally figuring out his role,” Hendrickson said. “He kind of got thrown into a position he maybe wasn’t ready for when I went down.”

Daniel seemed just thankful for the opportunity to play - both with and without Hendrickson.

“It was sad that it happened,” he said of Hendrickson’s injury, “but a lot of bad things happen. It gave me a chance to show everybody that I can play the game. If I can score and rebound and do different things to make myself a threat, it frees Mark up.”

It does the same for WSU’s perimeter starters, who combined for the Cougars’ other 44 points.

With UW forced to commit an extra defender inside, guard Isaac Fontaine shook loose for 20 points - six of which came from the foul line in the last 90 seconds.

Donminic Ellison added 16 points and fueled a 13-7 second-half run that put the Cougars in control.

Fontaine did some major damage in the final 90 seconds of the first half, throwing in a pair of 3-pointers and a 15-footer at the buzzer to give WSU its 35-28 halftime lead.

“That was big,” Bender said of Fontaine’s burst. “We were actually looking like we might go into the locker room with the lead and all of a sudden it went from leading (28-27) to seven down, and he was the cause.”

The Huskies trailed 60-43 with 7:14 left, but they sprinted back behind a barrage of 3-pointers that gave them a school-record 12 for the game.

During one stretch, UW made 8 of 9 from the floor, including five consecutive 3-pointers, and pulled to within six at 70-64 with 1:01 left. But Jason Hamilton, who had scored seven points during the big comeback, fouled out with a minute left and UW didn’t score again.

“If you’re hitting those things, there’s not a whole lot a defense can do other than contest it when they go up to shoot,” Eastman said of the Huskies’ bombing run, “and we did that, I thought, for the most part.

“They were in kind of whatever the kids say today - a zone, or something.”

“Our guys battled,” Bender said. “It was the kind of game you’d expect from two teams with pride playing in a rivalry. They made a run and got control of the game and that was the difference. We expended so much energy getting back into it, it would have been hard for us to finish.”

Both teams now head to the Bay Area where WSU will take on Stanford Thursday night, while UW battles California.

WSU 76, Washington 66

Washington (14-7) - Hartman 6-7 1-2 17, Femerling 0-1 0-0 0, Hamilton 4-10 1-2 12, Boston 4-15 0-0 8, Booker 3-5 1-2 8, Sanford 4-11 0-0 12, Watts 0-0 0-0 0, Thompson 0-0 0-0 0, MacCulloch 4-4 0-0 8, Amos 0-2 1-2 1. Totals 25-55 4-8 66.

Washington State (13-8) - Hendrickson 4-10 6-7 15, Daniel 7-10 3-5 17, Fontaine 5-10 8-8 20, Antrum 3-7 1-2 8, Ellison 5-9 4-4 16, Jackson 0-1 0-1 0, Scott 0-0 0-0 0, Mack 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-48 22-27 76.

Halftime-Washington State 35, Washington 28. 3-Point goals-Washington 12-27 (Hartman 4-5, Hamilton 3-7, Boston 0-5, Booker 1-2, Sanford 4-8), Washington State 6-15 (Hendrickson 1-3, Fontaine 2-4, Antrum 1-3, Ellison 2-5). Fouled out-Hamilton. Rebounds-Washington 31 (Hartman, Booker 6 each), Washington State 28 (Hendrickson 13). Assists-Washington 14 (Booker 7), Washington State 13 (Ellison 5). Total fouls-Washington 24, Washington State 11. Technicals-Mack, Hamilton. A-7,058.

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