ASUDevils.com - Tar Heels Thrash Cougs

March 27, 2008

CougZone News Services
WazzuWatch.com

For the first 11 minutes of the very first Sweet 16 game a men's basketball team from Washington State University has ever played, the Cougars were holding their own with the NCAA Tournament's top seed. But the North Carolina Tar Heels put the hammer down and took off on a 20-7 run en route to a methodical 68-47 win over the Cougars in the East Regional semifinals at Charlotte. Senior guard Derrick Low and junior center Aron Baynes shared top scoring honors for Wazzu with 14 points apiece as the Cougars finished their year at 26-9 overall.

The game was billed as a contrast in styles with North Carolina averaging 110.5 points per game in their first two NCAA tourney games and the Cougars holding their opponents to 40.5 points in their first two games. Wazzu won the battle of styles in the first quarter of the game as they set the early tempo and took the first lead of the game on a dunk from "Big Daddy" Baynes - it was the first time the Tar Heels had trailed in the NCAA Tournament. The Cougars continued to dictate the pace, playing stellar defense and frustrating the Tar Heels in taking first a 10-8 lead on a shot from senior guard Kyle Weaver and later, a 12-10 lead on junior guard Taylor Rochestie's only points of the game [Rochestie would have a nightmare game - going 1-for-8 from the field].

But while the Wazzu defense was good - holding North Carolina's leading scorer, Tyler Hansbrough scoreless from the field in the first half and completely scoreless until he hit a pair of free throws with 1:17 left - they were also missing wide open shots left and right and in the middle while committing an uncharacteristic eight first-half turnovers. Yet, even with the multitude of missed shots and ton of turnovers, a dunk from "Big Daddy" Baynes brought Wazzu to within one at 15-14 with 8:55 left in the half.

From there, it was all Tar Heels, as the Cougars went scoreless from the field - getting only one free throw from Weaver over the next 5:34 - when Low hit his first trey of the game. By that time, North Carolina had taken full advantage of the scoring drought to gradually pull into a nine-point lead and made it double digits at 35-21 by the end of the half.

The beginning of the second half - normally, a Wazzu strength where they take control of a game - instead became more of the same as the Cougars made only two of their first 10 shots of the half and Weaver suffered two emphatic blocks of his shots as North Carolina took command and gradually rolled out to a 26-point lead at 68-42 before both teams began liberal late-game substituting and Wazzu was able to score the game's last five points after both Baynes and senior center Robbie Cowgill fouled out of the game.

Weaver joined Baynes and Low in double digits with 10 points while Baynes and Cowgill shared top team rebounding honors with eight boards apiece.

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