The Cougars had an impressive performance in Spokane on Nov. 21 against Eastern WA, shooting 53% from behind the arc, and winning 96-81 against David Riley’s former team.
The story of the offseason for the Cougs was their rebuilt program, which features four players from Eastern as well as their former head coach. Riley brought with him LeJuan Watts, Ethan Price, Dane Erikstrup and Cedric Coward from Cheney to Pullman, which makes up four of the five starters for the Cougs.
Perhaps it was their revenge game, perhaps it was because they knew their opponents so well or perhaps there was something in the air at the Spokane Veterans Arena, but the Cougs found magic from behind the three-point arc, hitting 16 of 30 shots en route to a massive win.
“That was a fun game for a lot of reasons,” said Riley. “Great to see us come out and play the way we did.”
Erikstrup led the way. The former Eagle was on fire, hitting six of eight threes and leading the Cougs with 24 points, for a career night. He also recorded eight rebounds, dominating both in the paint and beyond the arc.
“You kind of don’t realize how many you’ve made in a row,” said Erikstrup on his big night. “You get in thousands of shots every week, it’s good to see them go in constantly and have a good shooting game.”
Coward, who was named to the WCC Preseason Team, also had a big night. He sunk three of five threes, scoring 22 points while also leading the team with seven assists, two blocks and nine rebounds.
Isaiah Watts came off the bench and had a huge night as well, draining four of seven threes, leading the team with three steals and scoring 22 total points, his second 20-point game of the season.
UW transfer Nate Calmese also contributed 19 points, including a pair of threes, but also led the team with five turnovers.
WSU’s 21 team turnovers continued to reveal what is one of their key issues. WSU has lost the turnover battle in all but two games this season, as Eastern only made 14 turnovers. If WSU can begin to clean up its turnover issues, it could take a big step forward as a team.
Eastern, meanwhile, made only three of 19 shots from behind the arc. Nic McClain continued to build on his strong season for the Eagles, leading them with 24 points.
“We have a high-powered offensive team,” said Riley. The Cougs have now topped 90 points in four of their first six games, indicating that the team has the potential to be an offensive powerhouse.
Coward talked about how he tried to tune out any emotions during the game.
“There were some emotions before the game,” said Coward. “Once the ball got tipped…I wasn’t affected by it.”
