PULLMAN, Wash. “”mdash; Washington State coach Dick Bennett has
coached 788 games during his 27 seasons on the bench. He
hasn’t seen many like the one played out in front of him
Thursday night at Friel Court. “I feared what
happened,” said Bennett, whose teams are known for their low
scoring outputs. “(My players) won’t quit. I
won’t let them quit. But it’s got to be better than
that.” “That” was a 50-30 defeat at the hands of
No. 13 UCLA in a game that had as few redeeming qualities for
Washington State as Bennett had explanations for his team’s
play. In fact, Washington State’s 30-point scoring output
didn’t even require school officials to turn that many pages
in the team’s media guide to find a more futile offensive
showing. Only last season, the Cougars lost 81-29 to Oklahoma State
on the road. Yet well after Thursday night’s game, Bennett
offered an apology for taking so long in the locker room, as well
as perhaps the most candid statement on his team’s loss.
“As hard as I am on our players for their lack of intensity,
coupled with our poor fundamentals, I must say this is a team that
got dominated by a vastly superior group of players and
coach,” said Bennett, who compared UCLA to the Michigan State
team that won the NCAA Championship in 2000. “There’s
no letup. They have the same level of intensity from start to
finish.” Bennett said the same of his team following Thursday
night’s game, but choosing the word “casual” to
describe the Cougars’ intensity. That was particularly vexing
for Bennett, whose team last Saturday completed its first sweep of
in-state rival Washington in 12 years. The Cougars’ intensity
from Saturday’s game certainly wasn’t to be found
anywhere near Friel Court on Thursday. “They’ll show
you and take it away,” said Bennett of his players. “It
reminds me of a lot of girls who I thought liked me.” With
USC coming to Pullman on Saturday, the Washington State coach said
he doesn’t anticipate a lingering effect from
Thursday’s loss. “The kids are fine. They’ll
bounce back. They’ll probably play a halfway decent ball game
(on Saturday),” he said. “It’s the beauty of
sport. You can be so devastated, and the next day you start to feel
a little better ““ and if you happen to play well it’s
forgotten.”
JORDAN’S JUMPING: And dribbling. And scoring. Though he
sprained his left ankle last Saturday against Arizona, sophomore
guard Jordan Farmar said there was no doubt he would be on the
court against Washington State. There was also no doubt of his
impact Thursday night, as he scored a game-high 20 points on
7-for-13 shooting and played 29 minutes. “Without him ““
it’s a longer night, that’s for sure,” UCLA coach
Ben Howland said. “There’s going to have to be
something broken for him not to play.” Farmar, who iced his
left ankle after the game, said Thursday was the first time he
could recall finishing a game without an assist.
FRUSTRATED FEY: Senior center and Washington native Michael Fey
played the final two minutes Thursday night, his first playing
stint since his one minute against Arizona State a week ago.
“It’s tough,” said Fey, who has been cleared to
play for almost a month. “I’m still trying to get back
into the rotation.” He has only seen court time in three of
the Bruins’ 12 conference games this season.
DRIBBLERS: Thursday was the first time this season Washington
State has not made a 3-pointer in a game. … Before the game,
Howland had a message for redshirt senior Cedric Bozeman. “I
told him this is probably the last time he’ll ever be in
Pullman, Wash.,” Howland said. “Now he’ll leave
with a good feeling.” … The attendance on Thursday was
4,097, the smallest crowd UCLA has played in front of this
season.