Washington State 70, Oral Roberts 54

Thursday, March 15th 2007, 3:47 pm

By: News On 6

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) _ Reserve Ivory Clark scores 19 points and Kyle Weaver has 10 points, eight rebounds and four assists as third-seeded Washington State wins its first NCAA tournament game in 24 years, beating 14th-seeded Oral Roberts 70-to-54 in the East Regional.

Taylor Rochestie added 15 points as Washington State pulled away Thursday with 59 percent shooting and one turnover in the second half.

Clark matched his career best with five blocks for the Cougars, who are 26-and-7 this season after finishing last in the Pac-10 Conference a year ago.

Ken Tutt scored 10 of his 19 points in the first half to lead ORU, the Mid-Continent Conference tournament champion that reached the NCAA tournament for the second straight season and fourth time overall.

The Golden Eagles lost their opener for the second straight year and close at 23-and-11.

The Cougars reached the tournament for the first time since current Indiana and former Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson led them to the postseason in 1994.