VICTORY IN PAULEY! COUGS WIN! COUGS WIN!

TAYLOR ROCHESTIE, his family in the stands and his senior season nearing an end, scored 33 points Saturday in a frenetic finish at No. 15-ranked UCLA to propel Washington State to a heart-pounding 82-81 victory. The milestones were many.

In a season gone awry, the win improved the Cougars to 14-13 overall. A loss would have put them under .500 for the first time in three years.

The victory marked Tony Bennett's first-ever over the Bruins and ended a nine-game Bruin win streak in the series.

The game also marked just the second time in history (44 games) that WSU has won in Pauley Pavilion. The first win was in 2004 when Dick Bennett was the Cougar coach. Dick, by the way, was at Pauley for today's donnybrook.

KLAY THOMPSON REJECTS DARREN COLLISON.

Rochestie was the man of the hour. He hit 9 of 16 field goals -- including five from three-point land -- and was a perfect 10 of 10 from the charity stripe.

He also dished off four assists, nabbed five rebounds and had two steals. His 33 points was a career high.

Klay Thompson was the Cougars' go-to-guy in the first half, scoring all of his 15 points in that period. He had six assists and five rebounds.

Aron Baynes, who fouled out of the game, contributed 13 points and pulled down six rebounds. He also had four assists. Caleb Forrest chipped in 12 points.

Baynes, Forrest and fellow seniors Rochestie and Daven Harmeling became the first WSU senior class since 1989 to defeat all 10 Pac-10 opponents throughout their careers.

The Cougars, 6-9 in Pac-10 play, will host the Arizona schools next week and then close out the regular season in Seattle on March 7 against Washington.

NOTABLE:
* WSU’s 42 first-half points are its most in the opening period this season. UCLA’s 42 were the most by a Cougar opponent in the first half this season.

* Cougar second-year sophomore Charlie Enquist appeared in just the second Pac-10 road game of his career. He played three minutes and had no stats.

* Rochestie and Thompson both played all 40 minutes of the game -- the first WSU duo to do so this season.

A PICTURE PAINTS A THOUSAND WORDS.