In the end, it was a kid from just south of the Palouse who sealed the game for the WSU men’s basketball team.

Needing an immediate basket and trailing 75-67 with 43 seconds to go, Lewiston native and Gonzaga forward Josh Heytvelt tripped and turned the ball over to WSU forward Robbie Cowgill, effectively finishing the Bulldogs.

“[WSU] came out ready,” WSU head coach Tony Bennett said. “I just challenged them to go toe-to-toe with one of the best teams I’ve seen offensively, and they did that.” A sell-out crowd of 10,755 packed Beasley Coliseum to see the Cougars’ 77-67 victory over No. 18 Gonzaga on Tuesday. Forward Daven Harmeling said some credit for the upset goes back to the fans. “Looking up there and seeing that place packed was unbelievable,” he said. “Fans deserve credit for this win, too – some of us that logged a lot of minutes, that gives us a lot of energy.” It was a fitting pinnacle for a team that came so close to upsetting Gonzaga two years ago in Pullman, when the Bulldogs won 54-52.

Tuesday’s game was really a tale of two halves. After a pair of Derrick Low free throws knotted the game at 11, a Heytvelt basket sparked a 12-2 Gonzaga run that staked the Bulldogs to a 23-13 lead.

The Cougars were plagued by inconsistent free-throw shooting in the first half and their inability to capitalize on offensive rebounds in the paint. WSU also struggled to limit Heytvelt, who had 11 points in the first half, and Derek Raivio, who had 15 on 3-of-6 from behind the 3-point arc. The Cougars also allowed 41 points in the first half, 16 above their Pac-10-leading 25.1 average.

“There were a number of keys – I think they had 20 points at the first media timeout,” Bennett said. “I said, ‘We’re in trouble, we can’t keep up with that pace.’ ” The Cougars came out as a different team in the second half. An Ivory Clark dunk and a pair of 3-pointers by Kyle Weaver gave the Cougars their first lead at 45-44.

“Our defense got better, but there were so many keys,” Bennett said. “We got back to a game that we could handle.” The Bulldogs jumped back out to a six-point lead, but a Low 3-pointer cut the deficit in half with 7:40 left.

But a Harmeling 3-pointer made the game 68-66 in WSU’s favor, giving the Cougars a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

The Cougars limited Heytvelt to 11 more second-half points and shut down Raivio, who had only six points in the second half.

Weaver said guarding Raivio was quite an experience.

“Chasing [Raivio] around was a task tonight,” Weaver said. “I think I did bother him tonight in the second half.” Bennett raved about Weaver’s 16 points and seven assists.

“I’ll tell you what I like best,” Bennett said. “Zero turnovers. That and the job he did defensively in the second half.” Harmeling had a career-high 20 points, including four 3-pointers. Low added 22 and also had four 3-pointers. “This was a big win,” Low said. “Coach Tony said we have to protect our house, and we did.”