Cougs hang tough but fall in end to Dawgs

IT WAS A slugfest in Seattle, and bodies were flying everywhere. Washington State dictated the pace early against Washington but the Cougar shots would not fall. A spirited second half brought the Cougs to within a point on two occasions but crimson scoring options were too few beyond Taylor Rochestie in the second half and UW secured a 67-60 decision.

Taylor Rochestie kept Washington State in it, putting on a shooting clinic in the second half but UW pulled away down the stretch.

The senior point guard shook off some cold (2-8) first half shooting to find the range over the final 20 minutes, scoring 23 on the afternoon.

The Cougs trailed 58-56 and had possession with 3:58 left in the game but the Huskies used an 6-2 run to put the game out of reach.

Klay Thompson picked up his fourth foul with WSU trailing by a point at the 11:43 mark. By the time he returned, the Huskies had built a 54-47 lead with 7:00 remaining in the game.

Washington State went inside early against the Huskies, with Aron Baynes scoring 11 points in the first half. But with Klay Thompson sitting with two first half fouls, the Cougs in the first 20 minutes couldn't find a reliable shooter other than the Cougar center.

Wazzu held UW scoreless over a six minute stretch in the first half but Washington State didn't do much scoring themselves and the game was knotted at 17-17 with 6:35 remaining in the first half.

The Huskies finished the first 20 minutes on a 9-2 run to take a 30-25 lead at the break.

Defensive dominated much of the game -- WSU shot 30 percent in the first half, the Huskies 37 percent.

Baynes held Jon Brockman to five points in the first half but Quincy Pondexter hit 4-of-6 from the field to lead the Huskies at the break with 10.

Wazzu was without Daven Harmeling who injured his shoulder in practice late in the week.

The loss likely means Washington State will be seeded seventh or eighth when the Pac-10 Tournament begins on Wednesday, meaning they would play on the first day and have to win four games in four days to win the tourney crown, something no team has ever done.