Long time coming

EUGENE, Ore. – It has been 66 years since Washington State’s men’s basketball team has won 20 games in back-to-back seasons.

It only seemed like it’s been that long since the Cougars had won in Eugene.

They did both Saturday, executing their defensive game plan to near perfection, throttling the Ducks’ potent 3-point attack and posting a 62-53 Pac-10 victory before 9,087 at historic Mac Court.

The last time WSU (20-5 overall, 8-5 in the Pac-10) won in Eugene – and in the process swept the Oregon schools – was the 1994-95 season.

The last time Washington State had consecutive 20-win seasons was during World War II, 1941-42.

“Man, that’s a long time,” said Cougars senior guard Kyle Weaver, who helped break both those droughts with seven points, seven rebounds and four assists despite battling painful calcium deposits in his right leg.

The Cougars, seventh in the Pac-10 in rebound margin (outrebounded by 3.6 boards a game in conference play), limited the Ducks to two offensive rebounds and won the rebound battle 31-20. That’s after giving up 10 offensive rebounds and being pounded on the boards 33-23 in last month’s win in Pullman.

“That’s a big deal,” said senior Robbie Cowgill, who led the Cougars with nine rebounds. “When you’re against an explosive offensive team like that, any way you can limit their number of shots is important.”

By limiting the Ducks’ second chances – they had two points while the Cougars, with 11 offensive rebounds, had 12 – WSU limited the Oregon offense to 49 possessions.

“You look at the glass play, it was significant for us to get on the offensive glass, but it was even more important to limit them to one shot,” WSU coach Tony Bennett said. “They’ve been shooting and playing so well. … Our goal was to work like crazy to make them shoot as many contested 3s as possible.”

“Our coaches did an amazing job of preparing us for what they wanted to do,” said Taylor Rochestie, who followed up a career-high 24 against Oregon State with 21.

Limited possessions meant limited 3-point attempts for Oregon, which has lived behind the line in two recent victories, hitting 18 of 31 3-pointers against Cal and 14 of 25 versus the Huskies.

The Ducks (15-10 overall, 6-7 in the Pac-10) had just 17 3-point attempts in this one, and only forward Maarty Leunen made any, hitting 4 of 7 en route to a team-high 20 points.

WSU had two players match Leunen’s total. Rochestie and Derrick Low, who added 16 points, were both 4 of 8 beyond the arc.

It was Low who got the offense going with his most explosive first half of the season. He hit three early 3-pointers and a floater in the half’s final minute that gave WSU a 30-24 halftime advantage.

“The difference in the game was the offensive rebounds in the first half because it gave them more shots,” Oregon coach Ernie Kent said. “They controlled the tempo with their offense. (And) they did a good job of not giving us very many 3-point looks.”

Despite that, the Ducks weren’t about to head south. After WSU built a 41-29 lead with just more than 16 minutes left, Kent called timeout.

The Ducks chipped away from there, pulling within one at 47-46 after a WSU scoring drought that stretched for more than 7 minutes.

WSU held the lead at 52-47 after a three-point play by center Aron Baynes when Tajuan Porter tossed in a runner among three Cougars to cut the lead back to three with 2 minutes left.

With the shot clock winding down, Weaver penetrated and tossed up a lob for an open Baynes, who finished with a two-hand dunk, making the Cougars’ Mac Court losing streak history.

WSU 62, Oregon 53

Percentages: FG .400, FT .765. 3-Point Goals: 9-20, .450 (Low 4-8, Rochestie 4-8, Harmeling 1-2, Weaver 0-2). Team Rebounds: 4. Blocked Shots: 3 (Baynes 2, Cowgill). Turnovers: 8 (Weaver 4, Rochestie 3, Koprivica). Steals: 5 (Baynes 2, Weaver, Koprivica, Harmeling). Technical Fouls: None.

Percentages: FG .487, FT .786. 3-Point Goals: 4-17, .235 (Leunen 4-7, Hairston 0-1, Catron 0-1, Odia 0-1, Taylor 0-3, Porter 0-4). Team Rebounds: 1. Blocked Shots: 3 (Catron 2, Leunen). Turnovers: 12 (Catron 3, Taylor 2, Porter 2, Brown 2, Hairston, Platt, Odia). Steals: 3 (Leunen 2, Brown). Technical Fouls: None.

Halftime–Washington State 30, Oregon 24. A–9,087.