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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, January 6, 2008

No. 4 Washington St. stays unbeaten

Associated Press

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Washington State's Derrick Low, an 'Iolani alum soars past Washington's Venoy Overton for a shot.

KEVIN P. CASEY | Associated Press

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SEATTLE — Even coach Tony Bennett, the architect of the resurgence at Washington State based around defense, was impressed by Washington's ability to match styles.

Nevertheless, the Huskies couldn't outdo the original, especially in the final minutes.

Aron Baynes scored 16 points, Kyle Weaver scored 11 of his 13 in the second half, and the No. 4 Cougars again used their defense to rally past Washington, 56-52, last night in the Pac-10 opener for both teams.

"My hat goes off to Washington and how hard they played," Bennett said.

Trailing 48-45, Washington State (13-0) scored 11 of the final 15 points, flustering the Huskies into challenged shots and taking advantage of the few open opportunities they found.

In the process, the Cougars extended their win streak over the Huskies (9-5) to six, the longest streak since winning six straight in 1941-42. And much like those games 66 years ago, this one was a physical, grind-it-out affair, with bodies flying all over the floor and every possession precious — just the way the Cougars like it.

"I don't know if it was the most physical (game), but it was probably right up there," Baynes said.

Tim Morris led Washington with 16 points and Jon Brockman added 14 points and 17 rebounds. But the Huskies saw their five-game win streak snapped and lost for the fourth time this season to a team ranked in the Top 25.

The Cougars' decisive run started with 6:20 left, after Artem Wallace's hustle on consecutive possessions helped give Washington the lead. Wallace went flying into the first row to save Ryan Appleby's miss and Justin Dentmon hit a 3 to give the Huskies a 46-45 advantage. On their next possession, Wallace followed Brockman's miss to give Washington a three-point lead.

Then the Cougars took control. Baynes' dunking three-point play pulled Washington State even at 48-all. 'Iolani alum Derrick Low, who scored 11, added a deep 3-pointer and Taylor Rochestie hit a runner from just outside the lane to give the Cougars a 53-48 lead with 3:04 left.

From there, it became a free-throw shooting contest with Weaver making 3 of 4 attempts in the final 30 seconds to seal the victory.

NO. 2 MEMPHIS 90, PEPPERDINE 53

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Doneal Mack scored a career-high 23 points, making seven 3-pointers, to lead the Tigers (13-0) to a school-record 40th straight home win with a rout of the Waves (5-10).

Five players scored in double figures for Memphis, which has not dropped a home game since losing 69-58 to Texas on Jan. 2, 2006. Chris Douglas-Roberts added 14 points, and Antonio Anderson and Willie Kemp had with 12 each. Robert Dozier ended with 11.

NO. 3 KANSAS 85, BOSTON COLLEGE 60

BOSTON — Darnell Jackson had 25 points and nine rebounds, and Darrell Arthur added 22 points as the Jayhawks won their first 14 games for the sixth time in school history with a rout of the Eagles (10-3) in preparation for next week's Big 12 opener against Nebraska.

BC stayed close for about 12 minutes before Kansas went on a 25-7 run to finish out the first half with a 47-29 lead. Boston College never got closer than 16 thereafter.

NO. 5 UCLA 70, CALIFORNIA 58

BERKELEY, Calif. — Freshman Kevin Love, a 6-foot-10, 260-pound center, scored 13 of his 19 points in the first half and grabbed 14 rebounds for his seventh double-double, leading the Bruins (14-1, 2-0 Pacific 10) over the Golden Bears (10-3, 1-1).

Russell Westbrook added 11 points and seven rebounds, Darren Collison had 14 points and five assists and Josh Shipp scored 13 for the Bruins, who won their seventh straight.

NO. 6 MICHIGAN STATE 65, MINNESOTA 59

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Raymar Morgan scored a career-high 31 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and freshman Kalin Lucas came off the bench to score 17 points, helping the Spartans (13-1) turn back the Golden Gophers (10-3) in the Big Ten opener for both teams.

After the Spartans built a 13-point lead early in the second half, Minnesota took advantage of turnovers and fouls and cut the deficit to 58-57. But after Lucas' steal led to two free throws, Morgan built the lead back to six with a foul shot and a contested layup.

NO. 7 GEORGETOWN 58, RUTGERS 46

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Freshman Austin Freeman scored 13 points and the Hoyas (11-1, 1-0) opened defense of their Big East championship by holding the Scarlet Knights (8-7, 0-2) to 31.1 percent shooting (19-for-61) from the field.

Anthony Farmer hit a 3-pointer with 18:07 to play that brought Rutgers to 32-25. The Hoyas then went on a 12-3 run that included 3s by Freeman, Jesse Sapp and Patrick Ewing Jr. for a 41-25 lead with 15:16 to play.

NO. 12 TEXAS A&M 79, LSU 53

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Donald Sloan had 17 points and the Aggies (14-1) took a 43-28 lead at halftime, opened up a 20-point lead early in the second half and the Tigers (7-7) got no closer than 15 thereafter.

The Tigers will coast into Big 12 play with a seven-game winning streak and their best start since they were 14-1 to begin the 1921-22 season.

NO. 14 TEXAS 81, SAINT MARY'S 62

AUSTIN, Texas — D.J. Augustin scored 30 points and freshman Gary Johnson, playing in his second game after missing the first 13 while doctors monitored his heart, had 15 points and six rebounds to lead the Longhorns (13-2) past the Rainbow Classic champion Gaels (13-2).

Saint Mary's trailed 42-36 at halftime, and closed to 50-47 before the Longhorns used a 14-4 run for a 64-51 with 10 minutes to play and the Gaels got no close than six thereafter.

NO. 15 VANDERBILT 97, MASSACHUSETTS 88

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Shan Foster scored 32 points, A.J. Ogilvy added 25 and the Commodores (15-0) rallied from a nine-point deficit to take a 67-65 lead with 9:23 to play and never trailed again to beat the Minutemen (11-3) to extend the best start in school history.

Vanderbilt began to pull away when Jermaine Beal and Foster made consecutive 3-pointers, followed by a jumper by Beal and free throw by Ogilvy to push the lead to 84-72.

NO. 16 BUTLER 73, VALPARAISO 65

INDIANAPOLIS — Mike Green had 24 points and eight rebounds, and the host Bulldogs (13-1, 2-1 Horizon League) used a pair of 7-0 runs in the second half to open up a 58-45 lead and the Crusaders (11-4, 2-1) never got close than five thereafter.

The Bulldogs won their fifth straight overall and matched the best start in school history. Valparaiso has lost three of its last four, all on the road.

OREGON 84, NO. 21 ARIZONA 74

TUCSON, Ariz. — Malik Hairston tied his career high with 29 points and the Ducks (10-4, 1-1 Pac-10) led by as many as 19 in the first half and never less than five in the second to beat the Wildcats (10-4, 1-1).

Chase Budinger scored 30, two shy of his career best, for the Wildcats, who were without leading scorer and point guard Jerryd Bayless for the third straight game because of a sprained right knee.

NO. 24 STANFORD 52, NO. 22 USC 46

STANFORD, Calif. — Anthony Goods scored 11 points, including one of two free throws to make it 49-44 with 28.2 seconds remaining as the Cardinal (12-2, 1-1 Pac-10) avoided losing consecutive home games to open the conference season by holding off the Trojans (9-5, 0-2).

NO. 25 WISCONSIN 64, IOWA 51

MADISON, Wis. — Brian Butch scored 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting and the Badgers (12-2, 2-0 Big Ten) won their sixth straight game by beating the Hawkeyes (7-8, 0-2) to improve their home record against Big Ten opponents to 47-2 under coach Bo Ryan.

WAC

Boise State 95, Idaho 84: Matt Nelson and Reggie Larry each scored 25 points, and the visiting Broncos (11-3, 2-0 Western Athletic Conference) used a 15-2 run for a 73-60 lead they never lost at Moscow, Idaho in beating the Vandals (3-10, 0-2) for the 13th straight time.

New Mexico State 77, Fresno State 67: Justin Hawkins had 26 points and 13 rebounds, sophomore Jonathan Gibson added 17 points and the Aggies (8-9, 2-0 WAC), leading 59-57 with six minutes to play, hit four consecutive 3-pointers to open up a 71-60 lead in beating the Bulldogs (8-7, 1-1) at Las Cruces, N.M.

ELSEWHERE

New Mexico 99, Wyoming 92: Jamal Smith scored 24 points, including 11 in two overtime periods as the Lobos (14-2, 1-0 Mountain West Conference) beat the Cowboys (6-7, 0-1) and Joseph Taylor, who sent the game into OT with at banked turnaround jumper and a free throw with 17.9 seconds left to tie it at 82, forcing a second overtime at Laramie, Wyo.

Holy Cross 67, San Francisco 63: The visiting Crusaders (9-3) finished overtime with a 12-2 run to overcome a 61-55 deficit in San Francisco as interim coach Eddie Sutton lost his third straight since taking over the Dons (4-11) and remained stuck on 798 career victories since replacing Jessie Evans on Dec. 26.

Louisville 89, Kentucky 75: Juan Palacios scored a season-high 17 points to lead four teammates in double figures as the visiting Cardinals (10-4) snapped a three-game losing streak to the Wildcats (6-7) with a victory at Lexington, Ky.

PACIFIC WEST

GRAND CANYON 90, BYU-HAWAI'I 86: Ladi Makinde scored 26 points to lead four teammates in double figures, helping the Antelopes (8-2, 3-0) hold off the Seasiders in Phoenix, Ariz.

Lucas Alvin scored 21 points, Cory Nielson had 18, Paul Peterson and Jermaine Odjegba each added 12 and Nathan Sims had 10 for BYUH.

CHAMINADE 98, DIXIE STATE 61: Mike Green scored 21 points, Patrick Collier added 20 and the host Silverswords (7-4, 2-0) took 40 3-pointers and made 18 to romp past the Rebels (3-8, 0-3) at McCabe Gym.

Stewart Kussle added 13 points and 12 rebounds, James Francisco and Marko Kolaric each added 11 points and Rodrick Johnson had 10 for Chaminade.

HAWAI'I-HILO 103, ASBURY COLLEGE 70: Jay De Maestri hit six 3-pointers en route to 22 points, Samuel Wilhoite and Brandon Price each added 16 and Theo Fujita had 10, powering the Vulcans (5-3) to a non-conference victory over the Eagles (9-6) at the Hilo Civic on the Big Island.

Michael Spann scored 17, Derek Craft added 14 for Asbury (Ky.), which trailed 60-36 at halftime.