The undefeated-at-home WSU Cougars (7–1) are nearly done with their out-of-conference schedule, having played out their last two home games over dead week. Across the two games last week the Cougs were not down for even a second.
Myles Rice, who was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week last week, has now won it again for his performances in these two games. He is the first Coug to do that since now-Atlanta Hawk Mouhamed Gueye in the final two weeks of the 2021—22 season.
First to Beasley was UC Riverside (4-7), thought to be the harder of the two games. The Cougs must not have heard that, because they beat the Highlanders by a score of 86-49. Their win included a 23-0 run in the first half and, at one point, a lead of 42 points.
Leading the charge for the Cougs was Jaylen Wells with 18 points. He has come to life in the last few games, and in this game he made a trio of 3-pointers and seven shots in total. He also had ten rebounds, marking his first Division I double-double. Wells did all of this, of course, off the bench.
Isaac Jones and Oscar Cluff had 15 and 12 points, respectively, both on greater than 66% shooting from the field. Cluff added eight rebounds and a pair of steals for good measure.
Isaac Jones dunks on a defender during an NCAA basketball game, Dec. 11
The Cougs had six blocks in this game, a number that somehow brought their nationally ranked average down a little bit. They averaged almost double the points-per-possession of their opponent, managing 1.365 to UCR’s .754, and they outscored the Highlanders in the paint by 30.
“I’m very pleased,” head coach Kyle Smith said. “Playing as a favorite is not easy, mentally.”
Following that game, the Cougs hosted Grambling State (2-7). They beat their second SWAC opponent of the season by a score of 83-65.
Grambling put up a better fight than UCR, but ultimately still fell. Leading the game in scoring was a Tiger by the name of Kintavious Dozier who had 34 points off the bench for Grambling. He had a few moves that just kept working, and he was drawing fouls and making a few ridiculous shots from outside.
Despite his best efforts, though, the Cougs won handily.
Once again leading the Cougs in scoring was Wells with 17. He kept finding ways to get open, hitting five 3-pointers in this game to put him at 67% over the last two games. He has become a reliable option in the kick-out game that the Cougs are always looking for, and his defense is good enough to leave him out there for long stretches of the game.
“Sniper,” Rueben Chinyelu said about his teammate. “Just give him the ball and he will let it fly.”
Speaking of Chinyelu, he also came off the bench for 14 points and six rebounds. His biggest impact, though, was his highlight reel of slams.
“It gets my teammates hyped, it gives energy,” Chinyelu said of his dunks. “That’s something I do.”
Leading the starting lineup was Isaac Jones, who had a few big highlights of his own and had the most rebounds in the game with seven.
Next to him and playing more than 35 minutes was Rice, the back-to-back Pac-12 Freshman of the Week.
He had 14 in this game but his real value came outside of scoring. Rice had seven assists, including multiple passes to showtime-style dunks in transition.
Rice also had seven steals, taking a few of those straight to the rim himself. This puts him tied for second on the single-game list for the Cougs, only one steal shy of the school record. Six of those steals came in the first half, tying Arizona State’s Frankie Collins for the most in a half for a Pac-12 player this year.
Jabe Mullins lauding Kymany Houinsou after an NCAA basketball game, Dec. 11
Kymany Houinsou has continued to start at point guard in Joseph Yesufu’s absence, and against Grambling he started to show what he can do as a passer. He had only six points, but he matched that number in assists and made his sole three-point attempt. Having multiple guys who can do that on the floor is extremely valuable, and if Housinsou can continue to show that ability he will likely earn himself even more minutes in this new role once Yesufu comes back.
Outside of their single loss, the Cougs have not had a bad game yet. However, they also have not played serious competition yet.
That is about to change.
Next up for the Cougs is the Jerry Colangelo Classic in Phoenix, where the Cougs will face Santa Clara. That game will be at 11 a.m. Saturday in Phoenix. Fans can watch on the Pac-12 Network.
