The Washington State Cougars are now 2-0 in the West Coast Conference after earning a physical 73-59 victory over the Loyola Marymount Lions at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena.
True freshman Tomas Thrastarson scored a career high 17 points, including four from behind the arch, with three of those coming in the first half.
It was a hotly contested battle in the first half with 16 lead changes and neither team leading by more than four points. Head coach David Riley kept tremendous confidence in his guys despite losing key players due to injury this season.
“I think we’ve got everything we need right here,” Riley said. “We have a really talented team every night we’re going to have to prove it. I think that’s what we’re about is going out and competing.”
Nate Calmese led the Cougs offensively, scoring 20 points. He made nine of his 17 shots from the field while being a presence on the defensive end. A Calmese steal halfway through the second half resulted in a fast break alley–oop pass to LeJuan Watts, contributing to a 23-7 run which gave the Cougs their biggest lead, 59-44.
“I’m just doing what my coaches ask, to play hard, pressure the ball and, you know, defense leads to offense. That’s what we’re trying to do,” Calmese said. “We emphasized it all week in practice.”
The Cougs came out in the second half determined to stop the Lions from scoring in the paint and force the shot, which resulted in LMU missing their first seven shots from the field and only making one three pointer the entire second half.
“We had come into the half and saw they had 26 out of 32 points in the paint and that was a big key for us to protect the paint, get them to take shots,” Calmese said. “They played right into what we wanted them to do so I think it worked out for us.”
LeJuan Watts flirted with a triple double putting up eight points, eight assists and eleven rebounds while Dane Erikstrup sunk three triples to contribute to his 14 points.
Freshman Parker Gerrits played nine minutes and Kase Wynott played 16 minutes, both continuing to see more playing time as the season progresses.
“All of the freshman that are playing are so supported by our upper classmen,” Riley said. “It’s pretty cool to see these freshmen step up and the guys embrace that.”
Turnovers were an issue for both teams. WSU turned the ball over 18 times while the Lions committed 16 turnovers.
Up next is the 2025 home opener for the Cougs on Jan. 4 in Beasley Coliseum against the University of San Francisco.
