Guards power Cougars to big second-half rally

STANFORD, Calif. — One man's misfortune can be another's opportunity.

With starting point guard Reggie Moore in street clothes, suspended indefinitely Saturday by Washington State basketball coach Ken Bone for two marijuana-related misdemeanor charges, the Cougars desperately needed someone to seize the moment.

They didn't get someone. They got a handful.

Not just Klay Thompson, or Faisal Aden, who took Moore's spot in the lineup and scored 20 points. But also DeAngelo Casto, Marcus Capers, who handled the point-guard chores, and Abe Lodwick.

And they combined to seize the final seven minutes as WSU rallied from nine down at the half to defeat Stanford 61-58 before 5,803 spectators at Maples Pavilion.

"Sometimes you just have to step up. Fortunately I was able to do so today," said Lodwick, who scored just two points, but they were the final two of the game, hitting a pair of free throws with 5.9 seconds left and WSU nursing a one-point lead.

Jeremy Green had a look from about 25 feet to tie it at the buzzer for Stanford, but it hit off the rim and the Cougars left the Bay Area with a split.

"We had to have this one," said Thompson, who led all scorers with 21 points, including five in the crucial last seven minutes.

Washington State (13-5 overall, 3-3 Pac-10) chipped away at Stanford's halftime edge — built through the Cardinal's patience and WSU's lack of same — throughout the second half, finally getting up 42-41 at the 10-minute mark on Brock Motum's layup.

But the Cardinal (10-6, 3-2) were back up six at 51-45 with 7:34 left before the Cougars rallied in a game they considered crucial.

The must-win was made even tougher by the news the Cougars learned on the way to Maples.

Moore would not be playing. Before the game, WSU announced Bone had examined the details of the charges and had decided to suspend the sophomore. His status will be re-examined later in the week.

That left their point guard playing the role of cheerleader, and after the final buzzer he was the first off the bench.

"I'm really pleased we as a team held our composure on the road in a tight game," Bone said. "We looked like a veteran team. To me, that was the greatest thing about this win."