Cougars ride Baynes to victory

PULLMAN – Down by seven points and down for the entire game to that point, Washington State turned to the least likely guy on the court to bail the team out. And bail it out he did.

Aron Baynes, whose scoring average this season is ninth-best on the Cougars roster, used his 280 pounds to the fullest, scoring nine consecutive points over a 2-minute, 26-second span to give WSU its first lead. And if that wasn’t enough, the sophomore knocked down four straight free throws in the closing possessions, first to give WSU a lead and then to seal a 58-54 road win at Oregon State on Saturday.

“I don’t even know what it was,” Baynes said. “When I got the ball and whenever I got the ball, I just tried to go up strong. My mentality was to dunk it because I knew that would put them on the spot. They’d have to either foul me or let me go up.”

Although most of Baynes’ season-high 14 points – all in the second half – came in the flow of WSU’s motion offense, head coach Tony Bennett said it was clear that the center could become a focal point.

“He’s like a cement truck in the air,” Bennett said. “A couple of times Derrick (Low) had the ball and I was like, ‘Throw it to him!’ He was so big and open, it’s like, ‘Put it inside to him!’ “

So when Low found him three times and then Weaver once to create the one-man, nine-point run, the Cougars (23-5, 12-4 Pac-10) found the contributor they needed to win a sixth Pac-10 road game this season, tying a school record. Baynes had scored more in a game last season, but he hasn’t been nearly the same player for much of this year while trying to work back into shape after off-season ankle surgery.

“Aron Baynes changed their entire team, elevated their entire team, to this victory,” Oregon State coach Jay John said. “Other guys did what they do, but Baynes won the game.”

The Beavers (11-19, 3-14) hadn’t lost to WSU at home since 1998, and for much of the game it appeared that they might keep the winning streak intact. Early on, Oregon State forced turnovers, made 3-pointers and generally frustrated WSU.

But the Cougars responded. In addition to Baynes’ exploits, the Cougars found a way to hang onto the basketball, a major problem of late. After five first-half turnovers, WSU coughed it up just once in the second half while forcing five Beaver blunders with the ball. Those extra possessions, especially a couple down the stretch, allowed the Cougars more opportunities to get the ball inside and get Baynes to the Gill Coliseum free-throw line.

Baynes wasn’t the lone individual giving his team a lift, too. Shortly before the center made his buckets, forward Robbie Cowgill knocked down a trio of 16- to 18-foot jumpers, helping to loosen the Beavers defense around the bucket. Mac Hopson, who played 17 minutes after seeing his first solid playing time in more than a month on Thursday, drilled an open 16-footer with 37 seconds left to put the Cougars up 56-54.

“You need lifts from guys like a Baynes or a Hopson,” Bennett said. “You didn’t want this thing to get too far from you. They were playing well.”

WSU is now 5-0 coming off of a loss, and it remains all alone in second place in the Pac-10. Although Thursday’s loss to Oregon means that the Cougars’ upcoming game against UCLA will not be for first place, it will provide them a chance to play for a co-championship, if given help, on Saturday.

And all the Cougars had to do to get there was to find a star in the biggest guy on the court.

“Usually from Baynes, he takes a long time and they always crash down and take the ball,” Low said. “But he was smart about it. He made a move quick and he did real well in the post and I think that helped us a lot down the stretch. He was big.”

Notes

Kyle Weaver did not start because of a curfew violation on Friday night. The junior, who according to a teammate had a friend in town, was a few minutes late for a 10:30 p.m. check and did not enter the game until the first media timeout. “I want to hold these guys accountable and that’s why I didn’t start him,” Bennett said. “Obviously he played (33 minutes) and it’s fine. We’re done with that.” … WSU’s eight road wins overall are the most since the 1951-52 team also had that many.

WSU 58, Oregon St. 54

Percentages: FG .500, FT .600. 3-Point Goals: 4-11, .364 (Low 2-4, Weaver 1-2, Harmeling 1-4, Hopson 0-1). Team Rebounds: 30. Turnovers: 6 (Low 3, Cowgill, Baynes, Weaver). Steals: 4 (Cowgill, Low, Hopson, Weaver).

Percentages: FG .375, FT .522. 3-Point Goals: 6-18, .333 (Jones 3-5, Cuic 2-7, J.Tarver 1-4, Washington 0-1, McGillis 0-1). Team Rebounds: 34. Blocked Shots: 1 (Washington). Turnovers: 8 (Washington 3, Jones 2, Schaftenaar, S.Tarver, TEAM). Steals: 6 (Jones 2, J.Tarver 2, Johnson, Washington).

Halftime–Oregon State 32, Washington State 27. A–8,082.