WSU follows script

TUCSON, Ariz. – Hours before Thursday night’s road game against an Arizona squad looking to solidify an NCAA Tournament berth, Washington State basketball coach Dick Bennett told his team he was scared.

Bennett, two days after announcing his retirement effective at season’s end, wasn’t sure what to expect going into the McKale Center with a team full of youngsters often susceptible to pressure.

“He probably had every right to be,” forward Robbie Cowgill said. “We haven’t been the picture of consistency this season. We didn’t have a great week of practice. Sometimes it’s like he doesn’t know what he’s going to get out of us.”

What Bennett got is the same thing he’s gotten in much of his final year – a slow start, a big halftime deficit, an improved second half, late turnovers and, eventually, a loss.

The Wildcats (18-10, 11-6 Pac-10) bested the Cougars 66-61 in the regular season’s penultimate game before a sellout crowd of 14,572, even after the road team made almost every single fan in the building nervous down the stretch.

WSU (11-15, 4-13), now losers of 12 of 14, whittled a 16-point deficit to two on two occasions. On seven possessions in the final 6:19 it trailed by four, but only once did it turn such an opportunity into a basket.

“We still come up with those critical turnovers,” Bennett said. “I would have felt terrible had we come out and just continued our wretched first-half ball. I was happy they showed a little grit. But like so many others, it’s another loss.”

Even a pregame gesture from the home team didn’t help the Cougars out of the gate – they trailed 32-21 at the half. Before his starting lineup was introduced, Arizona coach Lute Olson took the microphone and asked Bennett to center court, where he gifted Bennett a long weekend at a Tucson-area golf resort.

“I said, ‘Don’t do anything,’ ” Bennett said of the going-away present. “But for golf, I’ll probably moon somebody.”

Last season, the Cougars gave Bennett a greater gift – a road win in this same building – and for a moment it appeared the Cougars might do the same. Cowgill collected his fourth foul early in the second half, but Bennett inserted him back in the lineup with 13:27 left and the sophomore responded by playing the rest of the way and scoring 10 points, bettered only by teammate Kyle Weaver’s 12.

“I definitely felt like we had them on their heels,” Weaver said. “It’s just something we’ve got to learn as a team as we play more together, just to get over the hump. To just put them down once we have them on their heels.”

Notes

After Arizona grabbed 47 rebounds to WSU’s 27 in their first matchup this season, WSU outrebounded Arizona 38-29 Thursday night, including 13 offensive boards. … Four Wildcats finished in double figures, led by freshman Marcus Williams’ 17. … Hassan Adams missed the first minutes of the second half for a precautionary X-ray after a first-half collision. … Once again, Cougar shooting from the outside came up short. WSU was 4 of 20 from 3-point range and is now 11 of 55 in the last four road games.

Arizona 66, WSU 61

Percentages: FG .424, FT .778. 3-Point Goals: 4-20, .200 (Low 2-5, Matthews 1-6, Akognon 1-7, Green 0-1, Forrest 0-1). Team Rebounds: 8. Blocked Shots: 1 (Chavers). Turnovers: 15 (Low 6, Weaver 3, Cowgill, Baynes, Chavers, Henry, Forrest, TEAM). Steals: 3 (Cowgill, Low, Chavers). Technical Fouls: None.

Percentages: FG .460, FT .783. 3-Point Goals: 2-5, .400 (Radenovic 1-2, Rodgers 1-2, Williams 0-1). Team Rebounds: 3. Blocked Shots: 4 (Williams, Radenovic, Walters, Adams). Turnovers: 10 (Radenovic 3, Shakur 2, Williams, Adams, Dillon, Onobun, Prince). Steals: 6 (Adams 3, Shakur 2, Brielmaier). Technical Fouls: None.

Halftime–Arizona 32, Washington State 21. A–14,572.