Vandy Outlasts Cougars In 2 OT

Vanderbilt 78, Washington State 74

SACRAMENTO, March 17 -- As Vanderbilt guard Derrick Byars walked off the court Saturday, beaming but exhausted, he pointed at the pocket of Commodores fans sitting in their own, jubilant slice of Arco Arena.

"We're not going home," Byars yelled. "Not yet."

The SEC player of the year scored 27 points, hit clutch three-pointers and blocked a potential game-winner to lead the Commodores, seeded sixth in the East Region, to a double-overtime upset of third-seeded Washington State, 78-74, in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

"An instant classic," Byars said later, still in shock at the turn of events that put his team in the round of 16. "It was probably the best game I've ever played in."

The Commodores, who advanced to face Georgetown on Friday in East Rutherford, N.J., needed two overtimes and a stream of timely plays to erase a 10-point second-half deficit and fend of Washington State, which got 21 points from star guard Derrick Low.

Vanderbilt missed its chance to close out the game with 29 seconds left in the second overtime. With his team ahead 76-74, point guard Alex Gordon missed two free throws and gave the Cougars one more possession.

But Washington State's Taylor Rochestie missed a three-pointer from the top of the key with 17 seconds left. Commodores guard Dan Cage grabbed the rebound and sent the ball downcourt. Guard-forward Shan Foster scored a bonus layup in the closing seconds.

For the second time in two tournament games, Vanderbilt, a three-point shooting team that drilled George Washington in the first round, faced a defense that was supposed to provide a challenge. Washington State had ascended to the upper ranks of the Pacific-10 behind a stingy defense that was designed to frustrate shooters.

The Cougars won that battle in the first half, holding the Commodores to 1-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc. But Vanderbilt made 9 of 19 three-point attempts the rest of the way to complete the comeback.

With 46 seconds left in regulation, Washington State's Kyle Weaver hit 1 of 2 free throws to tie the score at 60. Vanderbilt had a chance to win in the final minute. Cage dribbled the ball at the top of the key and noticed that Weaver had tripped and fallen in the key, leaving Byars wide open in the paint. But before Byars could lay the ball up, Ivory Clark swooped in from the perimeter for the block, banging the ball into the glass.

Washington State's Daven Harmeling missed what could have been a game-winning jumper with less than five seconds left in regulation.

Once in overtime, this pattern continued.

Rochestie nearly won it for the Cougars with a great defensive play in the first overtime. With the Commodores inbounding from their baseline and the score tied at 69 with 8.7 seconds remaining, Rochestie picked off Gordon's inbounds pass, raced down the floor and went up for what could have been a layup at the buzzer. But Byars raced back and blocked the layup from behind, forcing the second overtime.

Vanderbilt center Ted Skuchas scored the go-ahead basket on a putback with 3:32 left in the second overtime to make it 73-71. Foster followed nearly a minute later, finishing a fast break with a dunk to give the Commodores a 75-71 lead.

After a free throw by Gordon, Harmeling made a three-pointer with 38 seconds left to bring the Cougars within 76-74. But despite Gordon's missed free throws, the Cougars never scored again.