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Move over, Big Dog, there's a new lead dog in town.
Washington State's Klay Thompson scored a Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout record 43 points to lead the Cougars to a runaway 93-56 win over San Diego and the tournament championship at Sullivan Arena. "Pretty spectacular," said San Diego coach Bill Grier. "That's what a pro looks like." Thompson's 43 points bettered the 41 Purdue's Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson dropped in 1993, and his 89 points in three games tied Southwest Louisiana's Casey Green for the second-highest tournament total behind Robinson's 97. Thompson cemented his Most Outstanding Player award-winning performance Saturday night during a brilliant second-half stretch, scoring 26 points in a span of just over 12 minutes. His record-breaking shot came on his eighth 3-pointer of the game, a bomb from the right wing that hit nothing but twine. "He just kept shooting until he missed," said Cougars' forward DeAngelo Casto. "And he didn't miss much." Thompson's eight 3-pointers tied a Shootout record set in 1998 by Eric Schraeder of St. Mary's. Washington State guard Marcus Capers called Thompson one of the best shooters in the country. "Leaving Klay open from out there, that's like a layup for him," Capers said. Thompson made 16-of-24 shots and went 8-for-13 from beyond the arc to lead a blistering performance by the Cougars, who shot 63.5 percent for the game and hit 73 percent of their shots in the second half. He also grabbed a game-high eight rebounds for the Cougars, who out-rebounded the Toreros 36-25. "They did everything better than we did," Grier said. Thompson credited his teammates for setting screens and getting him the ball in a position to knock down open jumpers. "I felt like it was a total team effort," he said. Reggie Moore scored 16 points and dished five assists for Washington State, which got scoring from 10 different players. Brandon Johnson was the only San Diego player in double figures with 13 points. The Toreros shot just 34.5 percent for the game. Thompson said he wasn't aware he was closing in on Robinson's record. "I knew I was playing good, but I had no idea," he said. When told he'd broken Robinson's record, the son of former NBA great Mychal Thompson said he was in awe. "Wow," he said. "That's something special." The Cougars (6-0) opened the game one a 12-3 run, getting scoring from four different players in the first four minutes. "I thought we came out flat," said Grier. Washington State's 37-point margin of victory was the largest in tournament's 33-year history, besting the 29-point beating San Diego State put on Hampton last year. Washington State cruised through much of the half, shooting 53 percent and running out to a 16-point lead before the Toreros used runs of 7-0 and 8-0 late in the half to cut the lead to three on a deep trey by Johnson with two minutes left. But Moore finished the half with a flourish for the Cougars, sandwiching a pair of three-pointers around two San Diego free throws to make it 39-32 at the break. Thompson led all scorers at the half with 12 points. San Diego (4-2) did its best to claw back into the game, but every time the Toreros got close, Washington State answered. San Diego got to within two points early in the second before a monster follow-up dunk by Capers started a 48-13 run to close the game. Washington State coach Ken Bone called the game the best his team has played. He especially praised the work of DeAngelo Casto, who scored eight points, grabbed five rebounds and blocked three shots to earn all-tournament recognition. "If screens were kept as stats, DeAngelo would have about 10 assists a game," Bone said. Bone, who traveled to the Shootout last season with Portland State and was an assistant on the tournament-winning Washington team in 2004, said this year's visit to the Last Frontier was his most memorable. "This is the best one," he said. For winning his third Player of the Game award in three games, Thompson claimed a trio of commemorative ulus in the Thanksgiving tournament, getting a jump-start on his holiday shopping in the process. "I think I'm going to give them as Christmas presents," he said.