Cougars Go Two-For-Osu It’s No Cure-All, But WSU Will Take Second Pac-10 Win

Given a chance to celebrate its first victory in a month, Washington State practically blushed while reminding itself that Saturday’s victim was merely - cough, cough - Oregon State.

WSU’s 80-68 victory at Friel Court broke an eight-game losing streak and was the Cougars’ first win since the last time these struggling teams played, Jan. 15 in Corvallis.

“It’s good to win, but the reality is, we don’t have many wins, so that’s where my mind is,” said junior wing Steve Slotemaker, who scored 15 points. “We haven’t won much.”

Coach Kevin Eastman also played straight man, making sure to qualify his team’s unexpected success in the transition game, where WSU’s slow-footedness has often been exposed this season.

“I don’t want to degrade or demean anybody, but we’ve played faster runners,” Eastman said. “A lot has to do with, can we beat some guys down the floor?”

Granted, WSU will not be confused with a good basketball team, not at 9-15 overall and 2-11 in the Pacific-10 Conference. But there were signs of progress Saturday, even if the Beavers (12-13, 2-11) were often little more than accessories.

Five Cougars scored in double figures, making up for the absence of forward Carlos Daniel, who is out indefinitely after suffering a sprained ankle Thursday night against Oregon.

“It was a real pleasing performance,” Eastman allowed.

Daniel, averaging 16.6 points and a conference-leading 10.0 rebounds, watched Kojo Mensah-Bonsu and Slotemaker combine for 31 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

Mensah-Bonsu added three blocked shots and three steals, helping to offset six turnovers. He and guard Kab Kazadi led WSU with 16 points apiece. Center Leif Nelson and wing Chris Crosby each scored 10.

“Kojo told everybody to pick up their game a little bit (with Daniel out),” Slotemaker said. “Don’t go for the spectacular, don’t try to be Michael Jordan for a day, but just do what you’re capable of doing.”

The Cougars may have been aided by the early exit of Corey Benjamin, OSU’s leading scorer. The 6-foot-6 sophomore had been averaging 20.7 points per game, but he aggravated an abdominal injury and played just 5 minutes, going scoreless.

The impact of his loss was difficult to gauge because Benjamin has never been much of a factor against WSU. In three previous meetings, he averaged 7.6 points on 9-for-27 shooting.

“I don’t know Benjamin, but he seems to feed off of spectacular plays,” Slotemaker said. “We try to take away the spectacular, the lob dunk.”

With Benjamin sidelined, the Beavers had no one capable of providing such a spark. “They were up 24-12 before we realized we were on the floor,” lamented OSU guard Jerome Vaden, who scored 16 points. The Beavers closed within 31-27 at halftime, but WSU used a 15-8 run to take a 48-37 lead with 13:47 remaining. Slotemaker punctuated the run with a fast-break dunk, a play that could not have started any more spectacularly. Mensah-Bonsu, WSU’s 6-5 junior forward, elevated to such heights that he actually caught Deaundra Tanner’s jump shot with both hands. Upon re-entry, Mensah-Bonsu passed ahead to point guard Blake Pengelly, who found Slotemaker with a pinpoint bounce pass between two retreating defenders. The Beavers closed within 73-65 when Tanner hit his third 3-pointer with 1:52 left, but WSU held on by making 6 of 6 free throws in the final 47.5 seconds.

Tanner led OSU with 17 points.

Paid attendance was 4,026, WSU reported, but actual attendance was closer to 2,000. That number included former WSU stars Craig Ehlo and Brian Quinnett.

Washington St. 80, Oregon St. 68

Oregon St. (12-13) C. Benjamin 0-2 0-0 0, S. Benjamin 2-4 0-0 4, Woods 2-4 2-2 6, Tanner 5-11 4-6 17, Bickerstaff 2-6 4-5 8, Vaden 5-14 4-5 16, Walton 0-0 0-0 0, Petrovic 1-2 0-0 3, Marshall 3-3 0-2 6, Heide 2-5 4-4 8. Totals 22-52 18-24 68.

Washington St. (9-15) - Mensah-Bonsu 6-8 4-4 16, Slotemaker 6-10 2-3 15, Nelson 2-5 6-8 10, Pengelly 1-5 5-5 8, Kazadi 6-10 2-3 16, Hutchens 1-1 0-0 3, Crosby 3-10 4-5 10, Stewart 0-1 2-4 2. Totals 25-50 25-32 80.

Halftime-Washington St. 31, Oregon St. 27 . 3-Point goals- Oregon St. 6-16 (Tanner 3-4, Vaden 2-6, Petrovic 1-2, Benjamin 0-2, Bickerstaff 0-2), Washington St. 5-13 (Kazadi 2-3, Slotemaker 1-2, Hutchens 1-2, Pengelly 1-4, Crosby 0-3). Fouled out- Washington St., Slotemaker, Nelson. Rebounds-Oregon St. 33 (Bickerstaff 7), Washington St. 28 (Mensah-Bonsu, Nelson 5). Assists-Oregon St. 14 (Tanner 5), Washington St. 16 (Kazadi 5). Total fouls-Oregon St. 25, Washington St. 21. Technicals-Oregon St., Bickerstaff.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 4 Photos (2 color)