With a starting lineup of five transfers, WSU looked very different to fans in a half-full Beasley Coliseum late Nov. 4. Both the names on the back of the jerseys and the style of play are new to Wazzu.
WSU and Portland State University did not get started until 8 p.m. due to the season opener doubleheader, but when all was said and done, the Cougs had wrapped up their first triple-digit affair at home since 2018.
New head coach David Riley was pleased with his team’s performance:
“It was fun to watch our guys score the ball offensively, and we got some work to do on the other side,” said Riley. “So I thought it was a good overall first game.”
Things did not start easy for the Cougs. They opened the game by allowing Portland State to go on a 21-4 run in the first five minutes. An eighth of the way into the game, WSU trailed by 17.
Riley, who went into the game a perfect 6-0 against PSU head coach Jase Coburn, kept his team focused and knew they had what it took to turn it around.
“Last time we played them at Portland State, they got out to a similar lead,” Riley said. “And so I knew that we just had to stay, stay steady.”
The team missed five three-pointer’s to start the game, missed their first two free throws and committed multiple early turnovers that led to points.
“It was kind of crazy like it was just a bunch of stuff that I hadn’t seen our guys do, pretty much ever,” he said about some of the team’s early mistakes.
For the next 30 minutes of gameplay, it was all WSU, and it started with Isaiah Watts. Watts came off the bench and sank the first three-pointer for the Cougs, which helped bring the energy back to Beasley, and sparked a terrific stretch of offense.
Both teams ran lineups full of transfers. For the Cougars, all four Eastern Washington transfers were in the starting lineup, including Cedric Coward at forward, LeJuan Watts at guard, Dane Erikstrup at center and Ethan Price at forward. Washington transfer Nate Calmese was the starting point guard.
All five starters plus Isaiah Watts scored double digits, a testament to the Cougs’ ability to spread the wealth. A big part of their success came behind the three-point line, where the Cougs knocked in 15 of 32 shots, for a 46.9% clip. That included five different players who drained multiple threes, a major change from last year’s team that struggled from beyond.
“Everybody can shoot one through five,” said Watts. “It’s really scary. We’re gonna be a really scary team this year.”
Coward said that while the team emphasizes shooting, a major factor in their ability to make shots is their offensive system, which gives them many open looks.
WSU took its first lead of the game around the halfway point in the first half, going ahead 29-28. They never gave up that lead, wearing down the Vikings and playing with a physical and dominating presence.
The Vikings offense came mostly from a pair of Louisiana Tech transfers, Terri Miller Jr and Jaylin Henderson. Miller led the team with 20 points, playing agressive in the paint and commanding attention from the Cougars defense. Henderson, who was the Vikings’ primary point guard, only scored 10 points, but he dished the ball around the paint and played with speed, cutting through defenders and showing excellent ball control.
Meanwhile, PSU transfer Shane Nowell, a former Eastside Catholic HS (Seattle, WA) standout, struggled in his PSU debut. He was two-for-eight from the field, missing four three-pointers and committing a turnover. His brother, former Pac-12 Player of the Year and current Detroit Piston, Jaylen Nowell, once dominated the Cougs with UW. Shane had no such luck.
The Cougars went into halftime with a 46-38 lead. They came out of the half just as strong, eventually pushing the lead to 89-74 with about five minutes to play.
PSU fought back to within eight points, but the Cougars sealed the game with a pair of Coward free-throws to put the game out of reach. With 30 seconds left, the Cougs led 100-90. PSU would manage one more layup, and the final was 100-92.
Coward had a tremendous first game as a Cougar, showing why he was selected to the WCC Preseason team. He led the team with 23 points, 12 blocks and two steals, sinking three three-pointers and shooting at a 58.3% clip.
“Home is where the heart is, and my heart is at Wazzu,” he said after the game.
Isaiah Watts scored a career-high 20 points, coming off the bench and providing a major spark for the Cougar offense. His four threes led the team, and he only missed a single three-point attempt on the night.
“This whole summer, we just worked on…being a scorer, not just a shooter,” said Watts. “And I think I did a really good job at that.”
As a team, the Cougars shot at a 52.6% clip, but struggled with 21 turnovers. Meanwhile, the Vikings, whose speed and physicality proved relentless, completed 48.5% of shots while only turning it over 15 times.
Two areas of the game that gave the Cougs a significant edge were their ability to get second-chance points, and their ability to hit free throws. WSU out-rebounded the Vikings 39 to 28 and shot 78.1% from the free-throw line to the Vikings 66.7%.
The Cougars proved with their win that they can put up points with the best of them. Last year, WSU earned its way into the NCAA tournament by being a defense-first team, keeping it close and coming up big in the clutch. Early indications show that might not be the case for this year’s Cougs.
Removing the first five minutes of the game, WSU won handily, 96-71. While the game may have been close at times, it never felt out of reach, and once WSU took the lead, it never felt in true jeapordy. The Cougars didn’t let the game slip away early, and they wore out PSU to claim the win.
“Play fast, play physical, play smart,” said Coward. “They’re not gonna be able to hang with us the whole game.”
The Cougars stay in Pullman for their next game against Bradley at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9.
