ORUTerry Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 NCAA 2007: Slammed shut Tulsa World Link by MIKE BROWN World Sports Writer 3/16/2007 WSU's Clark leads Cougars past ORU Green held to 13 points in final game Eagles' season ends with 23-11 mark SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- In football, it's called spying. Washington State forward Ivory Clark wasn't covering Caleb Green. But he was watching every move he made. When ORU's three-time Mid-Continent Conference player of the year got around mountainous 6-foot-10 Robbie Cowgill, the 6-foot-6 Clark flew in from the man he was guarding to swat away Green's shot. Clark did it three times in the second half, and five in the game, helping hold the Mid-Continent Conference's career scoring leader to 13 points. Clark also shared the game's scoring honors with 19 points as the third-seeded Cougars pulled away to a 70-54 first-round NCAA Tournament win Thursday over the 14th-seeded Golden Eagles at Arco Arena. "It was rather easy for me to come from the weak side and help Robbie out," Clark said. "I was getting kind of frustrated because Caleb kept smiling, like everything was still sweet. So I just wanted to wipe that smile off his face." Green's 13 points -- on 4-of-16 shooting from the field -- represented his lowest output since scoring 12 in a season-opening loss at Loyola-Marymount. It also broke his streak of nine games with 20 or more. "I really chalk it up as a bad night for me. I've had a few of those in my life. I thought we lost to an extremely disciplined ballclub," Green said. "But this game was not about me scoring a whole lot of points. This game was about me and my teammates winning the ballgame." But without more scoring from Green, the Eagles (23-11) had little chance against the taller Cougars and finished like they did last year, with a 16-point first-round loss. ORU fell to Memphis 94-78 in the first round of last year's NCAA Tournament. Ken Tutt matched Clark's 19 points and Moses Ehambe scored 10, but the Eagles needed all the firepower they could muster when WSU started hitting what seemed like every second-half shot. "It's hard to appreciate how good they are until you see them in person," said ORU coach Scott Sutton. "They're just one of those teams. On tape, they don't look nearly as good as when you face them. It says a lot of how well coached they are, just smart, tough players." The Cougars made their first four shots of the final 20 minutes and nine of their first 11, quickly turning a two-point deficit into a double-digit lead. WSU finished 16-of-27 from the field in the second half and committed only one turnover. Was it their best half of the year? "We've had some real good halves," said first-year coach Tony Bennett, who took over the program his father, Dick Bennett, headed the last three years. "I'm waiting for both halves to be like that, and then we'll be in real good shape." ORU owned the first half when the Cougars floundered like a team that hadn't been to the NCAA Tournament in 13 years. Shots missed by a mile. ORU outrebounded the Cougars and outscored them 11-2 in second-chance points. But the Eagles couldn't finish the half. Instead, they gave up a layup and a dunk in the final five seconds that turned the game around. Taylor Rochestie scored on a contested drive and Kyle Weaver stole an inbounds pass by ORU's Yemi Ogunoye and dunked to end the half. "Time was running down on the clock and I saw (Tutt) and tried to hurry up and get it into him," Ogunoye said. "And (Weaver) came in from behind and slapped it out of (Tutt's) hands." Said Bennett: "That flurry at the end of the first half really helped. Instead of a three- or four-possession (ORU lead), it's a one-possession game. "We came out and got a quick score right away and I think it sort of eased our minds and allayed some of the doubts." WSU started the game double-teaming Green, but Bennett thought it opened the floor for Green to find open teammates. Green assisted Shawn King for two baskets -- one a dunk -- and hit Tutt for a 3-pointer. "We just said, 'Let's go with Robbie to use his length and mobility.' He's not very physical, but he's very mobile and I just thought for the most part he did a good job. And it puts a doubt in your mind when you know there's a kid coming across to block shots from behind," Bennett said. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mike Brown 581-8390 mike.brown@tulsaworld.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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