SHARE Don Ryan | Associated Press Washington State center Aron Baynes, middle, passes off against defensive pressure from Oregon States' Roeland Schaftenaar, right, and Calvin Hampton. Washington won 70-57.

By Howie Stalwick

For The Kitsap Sun

CORVALLIS, Ore.

The two Oregon State students were standing in line at the concession stand, contemplating their next move after watching one of the most wretched halves of basketball imaginable.

"So," the young man said to his female friend, "should we watch the second half, or do you just want to go home and play some ping pong?"

The young woman showed admirable loyalty by electing to remain at Gill Coliseum. Her team rewarded her by shooting 32 percent from the field (22 percent in the first half), hitting one field goal in a span of nearly 14 minutes and tying the school record of 14 consecutive losses after a 70-57 beating by Washington State.

Taylor Rochestie led the 21st-ranked Cougars with career highs of 24 points and four 3-pointers. Backcourt partner Derrick Low snapped out of his latest shooting slump by nailing 7 of 15 shots for 21 points. Big men Robbie Cowgill (nine points, 11 rebounds) and Aron Baynes (nine points, eight rebounds) helped cover for a rare off night by senior guard Kyle Weaver (five points, three rebounds).

The third-place Cougars (19-5 overall, 7-5 Pac-10) insisted they didn't take the last-place Beavers (6-18, 0-12) lightly, but WSU came out flat and contributed to an unsightly first half.

"We didn't play great," Cowgill said. "That was pretty obvious."

"It was that great pregame (pep) talk," WSU coach Tony Bennett joked.

The Beavers trailed only 29-21 at the half after racking up eight offensive rebounds to offset the fact that their only field goal in the final 10 ½ minutes of the half came with 6:57 left. The half was marred by 24 of the 46 fouls called in a game watched by a rather solemn crowd, save for a couple hundred WSU fans, of 5,321.

It was still a six-point game with 13 minutes remaining in the game when Low answered a 3-pointer by Lathen Wallace (who led OSU with 13 points) with a trey of his own from the top of the arc. Rochestie quickly followed with a layin, and when Low drained another 3 with 10 minutes left, WSU led 45-35 and cruised to the finish line.

"They came out hungrier than us," Rochestie said. "They out-toughed us in the first half."

The Cougars ranked third in the nation in the latest NCAA Division I report with 55.5 points allowed per game. That said, Oregon State has struggled to score against everyone, and Thursday was no exception.

"We can say it was refs, it was 'rhythm' and all that," OSU interim coach Kevin Mouton said. "But you can't go six or seven minutes without a field goal against a team like Washington State."

"We bounced back in the second half," said Weaver, who refused to blame his lackluster performance on an apparently minor leg injury. "That's what good teams do."

The victory was the fourth straight for Washington State over the Beavers. The Cougars visit Oregon on Saturday. WSU has lost 12 straight at Oregon (15-9, 6-6).

Free Throws

It was the first time all season the Cougars had two players score 20 or more points in one game. Oregon State's reserves outscored WSU's reserves 38-2. OSU's top three scorers came off the bench. Rochestie, who came into the game leading the Pac-10 with 5.1 assists per game, had less than four assists for the second time this season. He tied his season low of one. The Cougars missed the front end of their first three 1-and-1 free-throw situations in the first half. The Beavers gave sophomore center Roeland Schaftenaar his first start in more than a month. That gave OSU three sophomores and two freshmen in the starting lineup, the opposite of their recent lineups. Oregon State fans need increasingly long memories to remember the days when the Beavers beat up on WSU and just about everyone else. Young fans find it hard to believe, but OSU leads the all-time series with the Cougars 160-116, including 98-37 at home. Saint Mary's (Calif.) coach Randy Bennett has been the subject of considerable media speculation that he is a candidate to coach Oregon State next season. Oregon State has lost 14 straight Pac-10 games and six straight home games. Freshman forward Omari Johnson, who had four points Thursday, leads OSU in Pac-10 games with a mere 8.3 points per game. The Beavers have lost by an average score of 74-59 in league play. OSU is shooting 36 percent from the field in Pac-10 games, including 28 percent on 3-pointers.

Cougars at a Glance

Thursday

Washington State 70, Oregon State 57

Saturday

Washington State at Oregon

Time: 6 p.m.

TV: FSN Radio: 850 AM