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Harmeling's big effort leads Washington St. over Cal

Feb 11, 2007 - 4:40 AM PULLMAN, Washington (Ticker) -- Daven Harmeling provided a breath of fresh air for Washington State.

Harmeling scored 26 points, including 16 in the second half, as No. 14 Washington State posted a 59-46 victory over California in a Pac-10 Conference contest.

Ivory Clark scored 12 points and Kyle Weaver added 10 for the Cougars (21-4, 10-3 Pac-10), who closed within one-half game of UCLA for the top spot in the conference.

With the 21st victory, Washington State posted its highest win total since collecting 22 in 1991-92. The 10 conference wins are also the most since reaching double digits during the 1994-95 campaign.

A team that relies more on shutting down opponents than tearing it up on the offensive end, Washington State captured its fifth win this season when failing to crack 65 points.

Meanwhile, the Cougars held an opponent under 55 points for the ninth time. Washington State also held three conference opponents under 50 points for the first time since the 1950-51 season.

"It (our defense) has to be solid when our offense is struggling," Washington State coach Tony Bennett said. "It has been key for us over the last three games."

Despite its limited offensive attack, Washington State received its fourth 20-plus point effort from a player in the last nine games from Harmeling, who finished 7-of-9 from the field with five 3-pointers.

"Daven Harmeling was huge," Bennett said. "His performance was significant and we needed it."

The sophomore forward also posted a career-high 28 points in a 77-73 overtime victory over Arizona here on January 6.

After scoring 10 points to lead Washington State to a 24-18 edge at the half, Harmeling contributed seven points on a 15-2 run that turned a slim 24-23 edge into a 39-25 advantage with 6:32 remaining.

The team's third-leading scorer, Harmeling was later fouled on a 3-point attempt, making all three free throws, and completed a four-point play en route to scoring nine straight points for the Cougars, making it 48-30 with 3:29 left.

In part because of Harmeling's effort, Washington State shot 69 percent (9-of-13) from the field and converted 15-of-21 free throws (71 percent).

"I thought we ran better offense in the second half," Bennett said. "We got some harder drives and some harder cuts."

Freshman Ryan Anderson scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Golden Bears (12-12, 4-8), who absorbed their sixth straight loss.

Ayinde Ubaka had 11 points and Omar Wilkes chipped in nine for California, which has lost its last three conference road games after starting 3-1 away from the home in the Pac-10.