WSU Men’s Basketball | Cougars catch up, then coast
BOISE, Idaho - Since Tony Bennett took over at Washington State last year, the Cougars have lost only twice when trailing at the half.
Derrick Low and Kyle Weaver wouldn’t let it happen a third time Tuesday night.
Low and Weaver combined to shoot 10 of 12 in the first 8 ½ minutes of the second half against Boise State. The scoring barrage quickly erased a six-point halftime deficit and fueled a 33-12 run during that stretch that paved the way for an 86-74 victory for the No. 9 Cougars (2-0).
Low scored 24 of his 26 points in the second half. Weaver finished with 19.
“That’s what good teams do,” Low said of the Cougars’ second-half surge. “We needed to get that [first half] out of our system, and I’m glad we did. We came out soft. In the second half, we carried the game and made plays when we needed to.”
The Cougars shot 56.3 percent for the game but turned it up a notch in the second, hitting 61.5 percent from the field and 6 of 10 from behind the three-point arc.
Trailing 32-26 at the break, Low hit his first three-pointer in the first minute, then followed it up by converting a three-point play and two more three-pointers, the last tying the game at 41 with 16:15 to go. After Aron Baynes sank a pair of free throws, Weaver scored on consecutive possessions, each time driving the lane aggressively, to put the Cougars in front 48-41 at the 14-minute mark.
The defense also clamped down, forcing six turnovers in the opening minutes and frustrating the Broncos (1-1) into a series of bad shots.
The Cougars, led by four starters from a team that won 26 games last season, held double-digit leads the rest of the way, improving to 4-2 overall against Boise State.
Anthony Thomas led the Broncos with 18 points and three assists, and Reggie Larry had 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Boise State, trying to avenge a last-minute loss against Washington State last season, played inspired basketball early. At one point, the Broncos led 21-8, thanks to cold Cougars shooting and some careless ballhandling that led to easy Bronco layups.
In the second half, the Broncos seemed confused and lacked the intensity they showed in the first 20 minutes.
WSU’s Daven Harmeling said the game provided a valuable lesson on playing with intensity and focus no matter the opponent’s record.
“We can’t walk around like fat cats, thinking we’re better than them, which isn’t true if we don’t bring” our best game, Harmeling said. “We got pumped up at halftime and came out pretty strong.”
Box score
WASHINGTON ST.
min
fgm-a
ftm-a
or-t
a
pf
pts
Weaver
37
5-10
6-7
0-2
2
3
19
Cowgill
17
0-2
2-4
0-1
1
4
2
Baynes
17
1-2
3-6
0-3
5
5
Low
37
7-12
7-7
0-1
2
3
26
Rochestie
35
4-6
4-5
0-7
7
0
12
Koprivica
10
2-4
0-0
0-0
0
1
4
Harmeling
32
8-12
1-3
0-6
1
3
18
Forrest
15
0-0
0-1
2-3
1
1
0
200
27-48
23-33
3-25
14
20
86
Percentages: FG .563, FT .697. Three-point goals: 9-19, .474 (Low 5-9, Weaver 3-3, Harmeling 1-4, Rochestie 0-1, Koprivica 0-2). Team rebounds: 2. Blocked shots: 2 (Cowgill, Harmeling). Turnovers: 11 (Rochestie 3, Low 2, Weaver 2, Cowgill 2, Baynes, Koprivica). Steals: 6 (Weaver 3, Low 2, Rochestie). Technical fouls: None.
BOISE ST.
min
fgm-a
ftm-a
or-t
a
pts
Tiedeman
11
1-3
2-2
0-2
2
4
4
Larry
32
6-11
2-5
1-10
0
5
16
Nelson
28
5-8
0-1
2-10
1
4
10
Thomas
34
6-9
5-7
1-3
3
3
18
Bauscher
21
4-5
1-2
1-2
2
4
11
Rouse
1
0-0
0-0
0-0
0
1
0
Greene
32
4-9
0-0
1-1
2
1
9
Garner
8
0-1
0-0
0-0
0
2
0
Noonan
17
1-4
0-0
1-1
2
1
3
Sanchez
8
0-1
3-4
1-2
1
1
3
Cunningham
8
0-2
0-0
0-0
1
1
0
200
27-53
13-21
8-33
14
27
74
Percentages: FG .509, FT .619. Three-point goals: 7-18, .389 (Bauscher 2-3, Larry 2-3, Thomas 1-3, Noonan 1-3, Greene 1-5, Tiedeman 0-1). Team rebounds: 2. Blocked shots: 0. Turnovers: 12 (Nelson 4, Larry 2, Greene, Rouse, Noonan, Thomas, Bauscher, Tiedeman). Steals: 8 (Thomas 5, Larry, Nelson, Bauscher). Technical fouls: Nelson.
Washington St.
26
60
-
86
32
42
-
74
Attendance: 6,718. Officials: Randy McCall, Bob Staffen, Bill Kennedy.