Keyed-up Cougs

SEATTLE – Even Tony Bennett was impressed.

No, not by his team’s defensive-fueled 67-45 rout of The Citadel on Thursday night, though he wasn’t about to throw it back.

No, the Washington State Cougar coach was impressed by the crowd at Seattle’s KeyArena.

It was 12,471 strong, and it was in full voice most of the night.

Seeing it, hearing it, experiencing it brought Bennett back four, five years, when he and his dad, Dick, signed on to turn around the malaise that was Cougars basketball.

“You guys have no idea what this atmosphere and this crowd means to our team,” the second-year head coach said. “It blew me away, to be honest with you. I thought of my dad, I thought us being here for our first year in Pullman, and the first year (in Seattle in the inaugural Cougar Hardwood Classic two years ago).

“When you’re in a dogfight and a battle like we are to turn a program around, and always will continue to be, you just stop, look around and I guess, just for a second, I smelled the roses. It’s probably one of the great memories I have, to be honest, because I know where we’ve come from.”

Though Bennett, after mentioning the crowd that came out to see the Cougars, said he had nothing against the Bulldogs, his seventh-ranked Cougars certainly did. Most of the night it was their chests.

But not right away. After bolting out to a 13-0 lead in the first 5 minutes, 39 seconds, WSU relaxed and the freshman-dominated Bulldogs – they start five true freshman and have 13 on their roster – responded. Five minutes later they had tied it at 13 and Bennett called timeout.

He told them to clamp down. They did, holding The Citadel (4-6) to five points the rest of the half – including throwing a shutout the final 7 minutes.

“When we get our rotations down, I think we’re pretty tough to go against,” said WSU center Aron Baynes, who used his 6-foot-10, 270-pound frame to dominate inside on both ends, posting a double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds) by halftime. The junior finished with a game-high 16 points and 12 rebounds.

But the defense didn’t end at intermission. The Cougars gave up two quick buckets to Cameron Wells – he and Zach Urbanus finished with a team-high 14 points – the last a drive and a short jumper to cut the lead to 35-22 with 17:26 left.

“Probably the best thing about Washington State … is just a pride in the way they play (defense),” said Citadel coach Ed Conroy, also in his second year. “I thought that was really significant in this game. We came out and had a drive down the middle and they all took offense to and they came out and they showed that.

“We went on quite a long scoring drought after that. We were stuck on 22 or something like that for quite some time.”

Actually 7 minutes, until Wells scored off a drive with 10:25 left.

By then it was 54-24 and the rest of the game would belong to the benches.

“We just took a step in the right direction,” Bennett said of the defensive domination. “That stretch is just the way we need to be.”

The Cougars last played Dec. 9 in a lackluster 72-60 home win over Portland State. In the ensuing break, Bennett drilled his 10-0 team – the Cougars’ best start since the 1991-92 team began 12-0 – on transition defense, rebounding and taking care of the ball.

The result: only one transition bucket (an Urbanus 3-pointer in the Bulldogs’ early 13-0 run); a 35-23 rebounding margin against the undersized Citadel (only two players taller than 6-8 saw significant time); and 10 turnovers (three coming in garbage time).

Plus, junior Daven Harmeling found his outside stroke, hitting 5 of 8 shots (1 of 2 beyond the arc) en route to 11 points.

After the long layoff, WSU has a quick turnaround, traveling to Pocatello for a Sunday game with Idaho State.

“Now we have to go on the road in what I’m sure will be an interesting environment at Idaho State,” Bennett said. “To get into the swing of playing will be good.

“But when you start Pac-10 play, that’s just another animal. That’s just the way it is. You can play everybody you want, but you when you get into league play, you’ve to be ready.”

Washington State 67, Citadel 45

Percentages: FG .333, FT 1.00. 3-Point Goals: 7-18, .389 (Urbanus 4-6, Eykyn 1-1, Pandak 1-3, McDowell 1-2, Dahn 0-2). Team Rebounds: 8. Blocked Shots: 0. Turnovers: 8 (Dahn 4, McDowell 2, Wells 2). Steals: 7 (McDowell 3, Clark, Wells, Brick, Eykyn). Technical Fouls: None.

Percentages: FG .531, FT .833. 3-Point Goals: 5-14, .357 (Low 2-4, Rochestie 2-5, Harmeling 1-2, Weaver 0-1, Koprivica 0-1, Abercrombie 0-1). Team Rebounds: 0. Blocked Shots: 8 (Baynes 2, Forrest 2, Cowgill, Koprivica, Harmeling, Henry). Turnovers: 10 (Low 3, Cowgill, Rochestie, Weaver, Sauls, Abercrombie, Forrest, Henry). Steals: 5 (Cowgill, Weaver, Abercrombie, Henry). Technical Fouls: None.

Halftime– Washington State 33, Citadel 18. A–12,471.