Myles Rice won his third straight and program-record sixth overall Pac-12 Freshman of the Week selection Monday. Now the most decorated freshman in WSU program history, Rice is not done yet. Rice led the streaking WSU men’s basketball team (18-6, 9-4 Pac-12) to beat Oregon State (11-13, 3-10 Pac-12) and Oregon (16-8, 8-5 Pac-12) over last week.
First up were the Beavers. The Cougars won a tough one against the Beavers earlier in the year, and while their record is not great they have proven they can upset good teams. That made this one something of a trap game, but it was a trap the Cougs did not fall into.
WSU swept Oregon State on the season, winning by a score of 64-58. They were led by a career-high 24 points from burgeoning flamethrower Jaylen Wells. Most of Wells’ production came in the first half, right when the Cougs needed it most.
Over the first period, Wells shot 7 of 9, sinking all of his four 3-pointers. His 18 before halftime kept the Cougs above water, as his teammates made just 4 of 20 shots. At halftime, the score was 27-26. Despite the Cougs’ struggles, the Beavers had still not managed to take a lead into the half.
The second half saw both teams improve a bit, and Oregon State managed to pull even four times. The last time they tied the game up was with less than five minutes left. There was still plenty of time to win the game, but then Isaac Jones drew a foul on a layup. He made his free throw, giving the Cougs a 54-51 lead.
It was all Cougs from that point on, with the Beavers not managing to get the game any closer than those three points. Wells scored only six in the second half, but he was vital defensively during the period and was a big part of why the Beavers had such a hard time coming back.
Andrej Jakimovski and Jones were the second and third scorers for the Cougs, with 15 and 12 respectively. Those three were the only WSU players in double-digits. Jakimovski got his points by hitting five 3-pointers at a 55.5% rate, while Jones hit three 2-pointers and earned his remaining six points at the free-throw line.
Despite an awful first half, the Cougar shooting percentages were not in the gutter by the end of the game. While they shot a cold 40% from the field, they made a scorching 47.8% of their 3-pointers. The offense had to step up to win, and they did.
A quick drive south took the Cougs to their next opponents in Eugene. The Ducks are one of the few Pac-12 teams to beat the Cougars this season, and the only team in the country to beat WSU in Beasley Coliseum. Playing them on their floor was a serious test, but the Cougs passed. They won by a score of 62-56.
Wells had another blazing first half, hitting four 3-pointers on four attempts to score 12 in the period, helping the Cougs to reach a 29-27 lead at halftime.
The second half saw the Cougs climb the lead up as high as nine points when Oscar Cluff hit a jumper to put the score at 47-38.
The Ducks showed fight, recovering from a cold start to the half and going on a run that landed them just two points down with five minutes left.
Rice responded with a 3-pointer, and the Ducks were down five points again. The scoring slowed down, with the third and second to last minutes being scoreless. Then, the Ducks Jermaine Couisnard hit a 3-pointer to make it just a two-point game with 47 seconds left.
The Cougs held the Ducks scoreless from that point on, hitting four free throws in the last 40 seconds to finish the game with a six-point lead.
Rice finished with 21 points and nine rebounds, which when combined with his previous performance was enough to win him Pac-12 Freshman of the Week for the third time in a row. With this award, Rice passes Mouhamed Gueye for the most in program history, and he now sits only one behind USC’s Evan Mobley for the conference record.
Three other Cougs were in double-digits against Oregon, all of them starters. Wells and Jones both had 13, with Jones adding a pair of blocks. Cluff had 12 on 66.6% shooting.
Kymany Houinsou was the only bench player to check in for more than four minutes with 22, meaning most of the starters played functionally the entire game. Wells had 39 minutes, followed by Rice with 38 and Cluff with 35.
The Cougs have been playing great basketball. The last loss came against Cal, in a game where the Cougs looked tired and were outplayed by a Golden Bear team that has surprised many this season.
That was in Berkeley. Now, the teams rematch in Pullman where WSU has lost only one game. With the upper deck of Beasley open, the Cougs are coming home with a chance to all-but secure a spot in the tournament. The stakes have not been higher in the entire Pac-12 era, and the Cougars are on a roll.
That game tips off 7 p.m. Thursday in Beasley Coliseum. Fans can watch on the Pac-12 Network.
