On Monday night in Pullman, WSU fell to Idaho by a tight 83-81 margin, marking Idaho’s first win at WSU’s home court since 2014.
The Vandals jumped out to a big lead, as large as 16 points in the second half, behind strong shooting and aggressive play.
WSU Guard Ace Glass attempts a two-point shot against University of Idaho Forward Seth Joba, Nov. 3rd.
WSU struggled from beyond the arc, making only six of 28 three-point attempts, while Idaho hit 11 of 28 from deep.
However, the Cougars showed grit late. They mounted a comeback, cutting into the lead via a 19-5 run in the final five minutes.
In the final sequence, WSU had a tip-in attempt with 0.2 seconds remaining that just missed. The comeback fell short.
Individually, freshman Ace Glass scored 17 points (15 of them in the second half), sophomore Tómas Thrastarson matched a career-high with 17 points and transfer wing Emmanuel Ugbo posted 17 points and eight rebounds.
Despite the strong finish, the poor start and the breakdowns on defense loomed large.
Riley was blunt after the game.
“We played rushed through the first 35 minutes for the most part… We had a bunch of silly breakdowns. Unacceptable breakdowns defensively that should never happen.”
His critiques did not stop there.
WSU Guard Tómas Thrastarson blocks a shot against University of Idaho Forward Brody Rowbury, Nov. 3rd.
“This team’s a lot better than what they showed. And I just think it’s really disappointing to see a team practice the way they practiced … and then turn around and play the way we did … better wake us up.”
Riley pointed out that the late-game effort was encouraging.
“The last five minutes we played hard… we played with more force,” said Riley. However, he emphasized that the full 40 minutes matter.
This loss serves as a rough opener, but the team saw some positives. Low turnovers, a gutsy finish and contributions from key newcomers. The challenge for the Cougars is to become consistent in those categories. WSU now heads to play Davidson on Friday, aiming to bounce back.
