Struggling Cougs Take Another Hit Errant Shooting By WSU Helps Stanford Storm To 78-67 Victory

There was a time in the not-so-distant past when Friel Court was considered a hostile hellhole by visiting college basketball teams.

These days, Washington State opponents seem to be using it as a winter getaway - a visitor-friendly haven in which to spend a few cozy hours out of the cold while fattening up their records.

Stanford, coming off an unexpected loss to Washington and in dire need of a victory, was the latest guest to take advantage of the pampering.

The Cardinal, aided by some hospitable bounces, 45 free-throw chances and WSU’s dreadful shooting, sneaked into town in the midst of a snowstorm and picked up a 78-67 Pacific-10 Conference win Saturday.

The victory, Stanford’s first in Friel Court since 1990, boosted the Cardinal’s overall mark to 11-5 and its league record to 5-3. The loss was the third in a row and sixth in seven games for WSU (8-7, 1-6), which has lost all four its Pac-10 home games this season.

But while the slumping Cougars shot a paltry 32 percent from the floor (22 of 68) and made just 18 of 32 free throws, coach Kevin Eastman found some things to build on.

“Relative to how the game went, I was probably the most pleased that I could be in terms of our stick-to-itiveness - our really going after the rebounds during a game of shooting frustration,” Eastman said. “So many shots we had were wide-open shots that just didn’t fall. And, unfortunately, it hits you harder when you’re going through a down time like we’re going through.

“But you can sometimes measure the level of effort and energy on your team in its offensive rebounding, and this is the second game in a row where we’ve just attacked that portion of the game.”

The Cougars who did the most to boost Eastman’s spirits were forwards Mark Hendrickson and Carlos Daniel.

Hendrickson, in only his second game back from a month-long layoff with a broken left hand, scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds before fouling out with 1:42 left. Daniel added 16 points and 10 boards, and junior guard Isaac Fontaine threw in a team-high 17 points.

But none of those numbers were impressive enough to offset Stanford’s backcourt production and a foul-line feeding frenzy that produced 31 Cardinal points.

Shooting guard Dion Cross scored a game-high 22 points. Point guard Brevin Knight added 19. Mark Seaton, a promising 6-foot-9 freshman, added 14 points for the winners, who shot 50 percent (22 of 44).

WSU seemed on the verge of taking control of the game late in the first half, but went stone cold. The Cougars missed their last six shots prior to intermission and watched a four-point lead turn into a 34-31 halftime deficit.

With Hendrickson on the bench with four fouls, Stanford put together an 11-5 run early in the second half to pad its lead then made enough free throws in the final 6 minutes to keep WSU from entertaining any comeback aspirations.

Once again, the Cougars were plagued by foul problems. Four starters - Hendrickson, Daniel, Shamon Antrum and point guard Donminic Ellison - fouled out. In all, 62 fouls were called - a Friel Court record.

Ellison, in only his second game back from serving a two-game academic suspension, looked ragged, missing all seven of his shots.

Things don’t get any easier for WSU, which takes to the road next week for a Thursday night game at Arizona State and a Saturday afternoon stop at Arizona.

Stanford 78, WSU 67

Stanford (11-5) - Poppink 2-5 0-0 4, Allaway 1-4 0-0 2, Knight 5-8 8-11 19, Cross 6-13 9-9 22, Harbour 0-3 4-11 4, Weems 1-2 0-0 2, Sauer 2-3 3-4 8, Lee 1-1 1-2 3, Jackson 1-1 0-0 2, Seaton 3-4 6-8 12. Totals 22-44 31-45 78.

Washington State (8-7) - Hendrickson 3-7 10-21 16, Daniel 6-11 3-4 15, Fontaine 6-19 3-3 17, Antrum 3-10 1-2 9, Ellison 0-7 1-2 1, Hutchens 0-2 0-0 0, Topper 1-2 0-0 3, Jackson 0-2 0-0 0, Scott 0-1 0-0 0, Johnson 1-1 0-0 2, Coby 1-1 0-0 2, Mack 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 22-68 18-32 67.

Halftime-Stanford 34, Washington State 31. 3-Point goals- Stanford 3-10 (Knight 1-2, Cross 1-5, Harbour 0-1, Weems 0-1, Sauer 1-1), Washington State 5-22 (Hendrickson 0-2, Fontaine 2-7, Antrum 2-8, Ellison 0-3, Hutchens 0-1, Topper 1-1). Fouled out- Poppink, Hendrickson, Daniel, Antrum, Ellison. Rebounds- Stanford 44 (Knight 7), Washington State 42 (Hendrickson, Daniel, 10). Assists-Stanford 13 (Cross, Sauer 3), Washington State 12 (Ellison 4). Total fouls-Stanford 29, Washington State 32. A-9,561.

, DataTimes