After a pair of losses and another near-loss at San Diego, the Cougars were badly in need of a get-right game as they came home to play Portland on Saturday, Jan. 18.

At first, it looked like the game would again be a struggle for the Cougs, who trailed by ten points early on. Echoes of their loss at home a week prior against Pacific were present, but the Cougars did not blink. They surged back to take a small lead going into halftime, then cruised to a 92-70 win, putting together a strong second half.

Nate Calmese took over the game, scoring 23 points to lead the team in scoring. He became the first WSU men’s basketball player since 2019 to score 2o points in three straight games, a remarkable achievement for the transfer guard who spent most of last year on the bench at Washington.

“I was getting a lot of easy layups,” Calmese said.

He credited his recent success to good film sessions and his teammate’s belief in his abilities.

For Portland, it was senior guard Chris Austin who helped keep them afloat throughout the game. Austin got hot in the first half, going four-for-four from deep, to account for twelve points. In the second half, he also started picking up points in the paint, finishing with 23 points.

ND Okafor came off the bench and had himself a night to remember, matching his career-high of 12 points.

“I just wanted to come in and make some momentum plays,” said Okafor. “I feel like when I roll deep and seal, that’s when I’m at my best.”

Head coach David Riley was proud of the team for limiting their turnovers to ten, one of their best games of the season in terms of protecting the basketball.

“I thought we had a good finish,” said Riley. “We took a step…not gonna say we figured it all out.”

The team still has difficult games remaining on their schedule, and Riley said he is continuing to emphasize improving and playing together as a team.