Cougs Finish Strong Miller Sticks Around To Help Beat Osu

It was the first time in four games that Eddie Miller was on the floor to the finish.

Not coincidentally it was also the first time in four games Washington State has come away with a win.

Miller, who has either fouled out or had to leave the last three games due to injury, came up with career-high 20 points and eight rebounds in the Cougars’ 84-79 win over Oregon State at Friel Court on Saturday.

“It was good being in there and being able to play, not watching it all from the bench,” said the 6-foot-6 sophomore.

Instead it was the bench and the 5,767 on hand watching Miller as he made the key play of the game with 2:09 remaining.

With the Beavers staging a comeback and only trailing by one, 75-74, Miller was able to rebound a Blake Pengelly miss and kick it out to Jan-Michael Thomas. Thomas, who was 4 of 7 from beyond the arc, knocked down the 3 to give the Cougars a four-point cushion that they were able to hold on to down the stretch. With the win the Cougars moved to 8-8 overall and 2-3 in the Pac-10.

“Rebounding is something Coach keyed on,” said Miller. “We were trying to come out and not dominate the boards, but at least come out with more.”

And the Cougars didn’t exactly dominate the boards. But they did manage a 35-31 advantage on the glass. It was the first time they have outrebounded their opponent since the Grambling State game on Dec. 29.

Of course, it didn’t hurt that Oregon State’s three big men; Jason Heide, Iyan Walker and George von Backstrom were in foul trouble for most of the game.

“The game was affected really quickly in terms of our substitution pattern,” said OSU coach Eddie Payne, whose team fell to 8-7, 2-4. “The players really had a hard time adjusting to the lack of flow.”

For the worn-down Cougars, who played three overtimes on Thursday night, Oregon State’s foul trouble was a blessing.

“It was big,” said Miller. “That’s a lot of fight down there for me and Kojo (Mensah-Bonsu) to have to go against 6-10 and 7-foot every night. So we just wanted to keep them off the boards and get them out of the game.”

The foul trouble also allowed Miller more room to operate in the blocks, where he was able to use his quickness to get around whatever the Beavers threw at him.

“Tonight he was posting a little bit closer to the basket,” said WSU coach Kevin Eastman. “But he is still outside the pro lane. He needs to be a little bit closer to the basket when he posts.”

While Miller was making strides with his game on the inside, Chris Crosby finally came out of his slump on the perimeter.

Crosby, who entered the game 1 for 20 from behind the arc in Pac-10 play, hit two early 3s and finished 7 of 12 (4 of 6 from 3) for a game-high 22 points.

“The 3-point shooting was really the difference,” said Payne, whose team was switching from zone to man defense throughout the game. “They shot a few and when they shot them you think: `That’s really not a good shot.’ But they made them.”

“I just tried to stay relaxed,” said Crosby. “I’m a good shooter when I don’t think about anything.

“You just have to put it out of your mind,” he continued. “What I really try and do is focus more on defense and rebounding because I know the way our system is that I’m going to get shots.”

“We are trying to get him to step into the shot more,” said Eastman. “But we would like him to make a little bit better decisions.”

It was one of those poor decisions that almost allowed Oregon State to crawl back in the game.

With the lead 78-74 at the 1:45 mark, Crosby drove the baseline and put up a leaner in traffic that hit nothing. But Miller saved the Cougars once again, getting a hand on the ball and tapping it back to Crosby who hit the follow from 3 feet for an 80-74 lead.

The Cougars had led by as many as 10 in the second half, but were unable to stop 6-foot-8 Clifton Jones on the inside. The junior had 20 points and 11 boards. Five of the boards were on the offensive glass and led directly to putbacks.

“Other than some lapses we did a good job defensively,” said Eastman. “Unfortunately we’re still getting hurt on the inside.”

That may not bode well for the Cougars, who will meet up with the Pac-10’s tallest and deepest team, No. 4 Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif. on Thursday night.

Washington St. 84, Oregon St. 79

Oregon State (8-7, 2-4) - Jones 8-11 4-6 20, von Backstrom 0-0 0-0 0, Tanner 4-16 6-10 15, Steinthal 4-16 4-4 13, Petraitis 4-6 0-1 9, Lake 2-2 3-3 7, Masten 2-2 2-2 7, Walker 0-1 0-0 0, Heide 4-5 0-1 8. Totals 28-59 19-27 79.

Washington State (8-8, 2-3) - Mensah-Bonsu 2-6 5-7 9, Crosby 7-12 4-4 22, Miller 5-8 10-13 20, Pengelly 1-3 0-0 3, Thomas 5-9 2-2 16, Bush 2-5 0-0 4, Kazadi 1-5 2-2 5, Stewart 0-0 0-0 0, Slotemaker 0-3 2-2 2, Hutchens 1-1 0-2 3. Totals 24-52 25-32 84.

Halftime-Washington St. 35, Oregon St. 33. 3-Point goals- Oregon St. 4-15 (Steinthal 1-7, Tanner 1-6, Petraitis 1-1, Masten 1-1) Washington St. 11-20 (Crosby 4-6, Thomas 4-7, Pengelly 1-3, Kazadi 1-2, Hutchens 0-1). Fouled out-Oregon St., von Backstrom, Walker. Rebounds-Oregon St. 31 (Jones 11), Washington St. 35 (Miller 8). Assists-Oregon St. 11 (Tanner 4), Washington St. 11 (Thomas 4). Total fouls-Oregon St. 25, Washington St. 21. Technicals-Washington St., Miller. A-5,767.