March 4, 2005
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) - Thomas Kelati and Robbie Cowgill each scored 14points to help Washington State beat Stanford 59-48 on Thursday night.
Jeff Varem added 14 rebounds and eight points as the Cougars (12-14, 7-10Pac-10) clinched a spot in next weekend's conference tournament.
Matt Haryasz scored 17 points and had 12 rebounds for Stanford (16-11,10-7), which saw its NCAA hopes fade. The Cardinal fell into a third-place tiewith UCLA. Chris Hernandez added 10 points.
The Cougars - who made 14 of 17 shots (.824) in the second half - snapped aneight-game skid at Stanford and swept the Cardinal for the first time in 12years. Washington State ended a 17-game losing streak to the Cardinal earlierin the season.
The Cougars held Stanford scoreless for an eight-minute period that spannedboth halves and scored 15 unanswered points to grab a commanding 25-12 lead.
The final points of the run were a result of a technical foul called onStanford coach Trent Johnson, which seemed to ignite the Cardinal. They scoredeight straight to climb back into contention with just over 15 minutesremaining.
The Cougars' patience on both ends of the court appeared to frustrateStanford in the second half, however, as the Cardinal tried to force theaction.
Washington State consistently ran the shot clock into single figures onevery possession while maintaining a tough-minded approach on defense even whenthe Cougars fell back into a zone in the final minutes.
Kelati's free throws with 2:50 left gave Washington State a healthy 51-40lead from which Stanford was unable to recover.
Rebounds were plentiful in the first half - the teams combined for 43 - asneither team could find its rhythm in a scrappy, tough-minded defensivedisplay.
Washington State missed 18 of its first 22 shots and Stanford wasn't muchbetter at 20 percent for the half.
Rob Little, who had 11 rebounds, gave the Cardinal a 12-10 lead with 5:52left following a three-point play but they didn't score again until the 17:09mark of the second half and the Cougars settled for a 16-12 halftime advantage.