The Cougars went to Boise for a Quad 1 game against the Boise State Broncos and left with their second straight Quad 1 win of the season on Dec. 7.
WSU was again without senior forward Cedric Coward, who is reportedly headed for shoulder surgery and whose timeline to return is unknown. The Cougs were also without Kase Wynott and Marcus Wilson, leaving their bench thin. Isaiah Watts once again got the start in Coward’s absence, the fourth start of the season for the Sophomore.
Wazzu got off to a hot start, pushing the pace and overwhelming the Broncos. The Cougars have earned a reputation as a quick team, and they out-hustled the Broncos early. Washington State jumped out to a 30-13 lead to start the game and everything seemed to be going right for Washington State. The Cougs played fast and aggressive and made the Broncos pay for their mistakes. By halftime, WSU led by 20, with the score sitting at 44-24.
The Cougs continued to play strong out of the half and expanded their lead to 24, but Boise State started turning things around and the Cougars started getting into foul trouble. A 48-24 lead evaporated, with the Cougs being outscored 45-25 from that point onward. Boise State fed off the home crowd’s energy and took advantage of the Cougs fouls by hitting 12 free throws. With a minute left in the game, BSU cut the lead to 73-69 as an errant pass from Nate Calmese led to a steal, a layup and an and-one for the Broncos, which also resulted in Calmese fouling out of the game.
The Cougs committed 21 total fouls, as opposed to the Broncos 15. Alvaro Cardenas of Boise State also fouled out of the game with about a minute to play.
Fortunately for the Cougs, they got the ball back and hung on long enough that Boise State had to resort to fouls. LeJuan Watts took the free throws and made one, to give the Cougars a five-point lead, which they held for a final of 74-69.
“We had some guys step up and make momentum plays,” said head coach Riley on the Cougs resistance to the Bronco’s late push. “Dane hit a big shot, LeJuan had a couple big time passes…Ethan had some big boards.”
Riley said he is excited that despite the win, there is so much to work on, citing Wazzu’s inability to hold their big lead in the second half.
Unlike in previous wins in which the Cougars have dominated from behind the arc, this time the story was the Cougs mid-range shooting. WSU only made six of 22 threes but shot 50.9% overall from the field. Boise State shot 37.9% from the field, redeeming a 27% first-half mark with a 50% second-half shooting percentage. The difference in first-half shooting turned out to be the difference in the game.
“When we were scoring and beating them by 24, we were playing at our pace,” said Riley.
WSU also did a good job limiting turnovers. The Cougs turned the ball over 13 times and allowed 11 points off turnovers while taking the ball away ten times for ten points. Although they did still lose the turnover battle, the Cougs kept the differential much closer than in previous games.
LeJuan Watts led the team with 20 points. He made six of eight field goals and drained eight of ten free throws. His clutch free throws at the end of the game were crucial for the Cougs chances to hold on to the win.
Dane Erikstrup and Isaiah Watts both sunk a pair of threes. Erikstrup scored 18 points total, while Watts added 16 points and seven rebounds.
The bench also stepped up once again. ND Okafor led the team with three blocks, Tomas Thrastarson hit a pair of massive free throws in the fourth quarter and Parker Gerrits found the net for his first three-pointer of the season.
Riely said his players have been studying hard, but have been stressed with the challenge of handling finals and big games.
“They got a couple days off from basketball and they got finals week,” Riley said. He hopes they will get rested over the week.
The Cougars now return to Pullman where they will host Missouri State on Dec. 14.
