COLLEGE BASKETBALL
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Derrick Low, an Iolani alumnus, went up for a shot yesterday vs. Oregon.
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Low leads Cougars over Ducks
STORY SUMMARY »
PULLMAN, Wash. » Iolani product Derrick Low scored 27 points and No. 8 Washington State rallied to end a 13-game losing skid to Oregon (12-6, 3-3) last night.
Kyle Weaver added 16 points and eight assists for Washington State (16-1, 4-1 Pac-10), which tied Arizona State and UCLA for the league lead.
Low hit 10 of his 16 shots from the field, including four 3-pointers. His previous scoring high came last year, when he torched Oregon for 37 points in a loss.
Washington State, the nation's top defense at 52 points per game, held Oregon 21 points below its season average and to 44 percent shooting. Washington State last beat Oregon in 2001.
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Associated Press
PULLMAN, Wash. » Taylor Rochestie had missed every shot he had taken when he went to the free-throw line with 42 seconds left and No. 8 Washington State leading nemesis Oregon by just one point.
Rochestie sank both free throws and two more 18 seconds later to give Washington State the winning margin in a 69-60 victory that broke a 13-game losing streak to the Ducks. The Cougars also climbed into a share of the Pac-10 lead with UCLA and Arizona St.
"I just wanted a good chance to redeem myself," Rochestie said. "I was thinking about the players on the team and the coaching staff and the stats on when we play Oregon and haven't beaten them in so many games."
It was a night of redemption for this entire Washington State team, which had broken so many futility streaks in recent years. But no WSU team had beaten Oregon since 2001, perhaps the last major blemish in the rebuilding of the WSU program.
"I just wanted to get one win before I graduate, at least," said WSU's Derrick Low, a former Iolani standout who scored 27 points on 10-for-16 shooting.
For most of the game, it looked like Oregon (12-6, 3-3) was going to win again. The Ducks bolted to a 17-6 lead, and led 34-30 at halftime. But they shot just 36 percent in the second half, while WSU was making 52 percent.
"I said, 'Settle down, get back in the game,' " WSU coach Tony Bennett recalled.
Malik Hairston's two free throws with 2:08 left gave the Ducks their last lead at 59-57.