Cougars wallop Sacramento St.

There was a moment late in the second half when the Washington State Cougars couldn't make a basket from two feet away. On one possession, the Cougs had four straight attempts, and a variety of players couldn't convert on the simplest of shots that should be made at least 80 percent of the time.

But there was a reason for it — they were obviously too close. From farther out, say 20 feet or so, the Cougs couldn't seem to miss in a 76-55 win over Sacramento State on Friday at Friel Court.

With a relatively small pre-Apple Cup crowd of 8,504 looking on, the Cougs showed that the new 3-point distance — 20 feet, 9 inches — means little to them. WSU knocked down 15-of-29 3-point shots, with five different players making 3-pointers. It was the most 3s WSU made since hitting 18 against Gonzaga in 2002. The Cougs actually shot a better percentage from beyond the 3-point arc (52 percent) than they did from the field (47.5 percent).

"You can't always count on that," WSU head coach Tony Bennett said.

So the Cougs taking more than half their shots from 3-point range won't be a common occurrence?

"If we can make that many, I'll take it all the time," Bennett said with a chuckle.

Joking aside, the Cougs' 29 3-point attempts were far from exorbitant, particularly when you consider it's what Sacramento State coach Bobby Katz seemed intent on letting them do.

The Hornets' defense was a sagging, helping, packed-in look that cut down on dribble penetration and swarmed passes in the post — it looked almost like, well, the Cougs. And there's a good reason for it.

"He's a disciple of Dick Bennett," Tony Bennett said of his father's legendary defensive teachings.

But the Hornets took the Dick Bennett's teachings almost to a different level when it came to packing it in inside.

"They were more extreme," Tony Bennett said. "I don't think we'll see a more packed-in look again."

After getting a pair of easy buckets early on, senior center Aron Baynes could hardly get his hands on a ball that wasn't a rebound.

"I didn't need any room to work," Baynes said. "I was more than happy to sit back and watch the shots go through the nets."

But to WSU's credit, they didn't really force the outside shot early. They still gave the token look inside before working it around the perimeter or driving and kicking for an open outside look. And each time they did, the WSU shooters — Klay Thompson, Daven Harmeling, Taylor Rochestie and Nik Koprivica — would catch the ball in rhythm and let it fly.

Even with what Sacramento State was trying to do defensively, it still stunned players to be so open for 3-point shots. They had time get the feet squared and set up with little or no pressure.

"If I get my feet set and an open look, I should make 80 percent," Thompson said.

That may be a bit presumptuous, but that's Thompson's mentality, and he made 5-of-9, which is only 55 percent, under his desired percentage, but something the Cougs will take.

"When Klay has feet set, I've seen him shoot it like that in practice," Harmeling said.

But Harmeling, who had three 3-pointers himself, was a little less demanding.

"If you're an alleged shooter, and you have your feet set and open looks like that, you should make more than 50 percent," he said.

So that means you can call Rochestie "an alleged shooter" since he buried 5-of-6 3-pointers, a day after Bennett challenged him in practice to take open shots when given to him.

"I really challenged him to be assertive," Bennett said. "He was pressing a little and playing rushed trying early on trying to do much off the dribble. I told him to take what the defense was giving him."

And that's what Rochestie did in scoring 17 points. But being a solid point guard, he also made sure his teammates stayed involved, dishing out 10 assists, most coming on nice drive and kicks to Thompson, Harmeling or Koprivica for open 3s. It was his first double-double at WSU.

"Ever since Taylor came here ... I said, "that's our point guard,'" Harmeling said. "He doesn't have any weaknesses."

WSU had four players in double figures with Thompson and Rochestie each netting 17. Harmeling had 13, while Baynes fought through the clogged inside for 13 points and six rebounds.