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Weaver, Washington State outlast rival Washington

Mar 9, 2008 - 6:48 AM PULLMAN, Washington (Ticker) -- It took a little longer than expected, but Washington State closed out its season with another win against its arch-rival.

Kyle Weaver had 20 points and six assists and senior classmate Derrick Low added 16 points as No. 22 Washington State held off Washington in double overtime, 76-73, in a Pac-10 Conference thriller on Saturday.

Taylor Rochestie had 16 points and five assists off the bench for the Cougars (23-7, 11-7 Pac-10), who beat the Huskies for the seventh straight time - the longest such streak in the series, dating back to 1910.

With the win, Washington State - led by three senior starters - also clinched the third seed in the Pac-10 tournament, which begins next week.

"I'm kind of spent right now," Washington State coach Tony Bennett said. "What I kept telling those guys in the huddle was you're going to make this one of the greatest memories if you can get this one. What a memory they created for everyone. It's a special group going out."

Neither team had a lead bigger than six throughout the contest, but after the game went into a second overtime, Washington State seized control early.

Weaver made one free throw and Aron Baynes followed with a three-point play to give the Cougars a 71-67 lead with 4:07 left in the second extra period.

Ryan Appleby's 3-pointer cut the deficit to one, but Robbie Cowgill answered with a jumper and Washington State made 3-of-4 free throws to take a 76-70 bulge with 58 seconds to play.

Appleby made another shot from the arc to cut the deficit to three, and had a chance to tie, but the Washington guard's long 3-pointer was off the mark as time expired.

"I thought we went and won this game," Bennett said. "I don't think Washington lost it. They got in foul trouble, but they're good, that's our league. It's so balanced and so tough.

"We finished in third and in a league like this as much as you want to win it, that's very solid. Now we have to keep trying to play the best ball we can going into the Pac-10 and NCAA tournaments."

Jon Brockman had 17 points and 12 rebounds and Appleby finished with 16 points for the Huskies (16-15, 7-11), who outrebounded the Cougars, 47-29, and outscored their opponent 36-18 in the paint. Washington also committed 22 turnovers.

"It was emotional for both sides," Washington coach Lorenzo Romar said. "I felt our guys played well but when you turn the ball over as much as we did, it's real hard to win, especially against these guys."

Trailing by six late in the first half, the Cougars finished strong, going on a 10-0 run - keyed by 3-pointers from Weaver and Rochestie - to take a 30-26 lead at the intermission.

Washington rallied to take the lead by four late in regulation, but the Cougars rallied to tie the contest on a pair of free throws from Weaver and a layup from Cowgill with 14 seconds remaining. Cowgill was fouled on the play, but missed the free throw and Weaver could not convert on the final shot, which sent the game into overtime.

In the first extra period, the teams traded baskets early before a layup by Justin Dentmon gave Washington a two-point lead with 1:25 left and, after each team made one free throw, the Huskies held a 67-65 edge with 31 seconds to play.

With the clock winding down, Rochestie's 3-pointer was off the mark but Cowgill scored on the putback to tie the game at 67-67 and send the contest into a second overtime.

"We made some big plays, but they certainly made plays too," Bennett said. "It was the last one standing. Maybe we made one or two more big plays than they did, but it wasn't a matter of them not executing or hitting a big three."