WSU overcomes Sac State, 79-68
COUGARS
We've got our game story done, which you can read here, so we have time to really break down what went on Thursday night in Beasley Coliseum. The short version: The better team won. But not that easily. Read on.
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• Read the quotes from WSU coach Ken Bone in our story tonight. Pay close attention to what he said about the plan going into the game, what he was looking for from his players. Then notice who started. I'm not a mailman, but I can see a message being sent as well as anyone. The poor start might have undermined the point a bit, though the final result didn't hurt (a win is a win). ... I want to point out one player's statistical line, that of Faisal Aden. He was 7 of 9 shooting, with both misses from beyond the arc, for his 18 points. He had three rebounds, all defensive, but his tip on an offensive one was key. He had two assists and five turnovers, though at least two of those turnovers came when he tried to feed teammates for baskets. And he had two blocks and five steals as he worked hard at times on the defensive end. ... Three players came off the bench and contributed 12 points in a combined 18 minutes. They were D.J. Shelton, Dexter Kernich-Drew and Charlie Enquist. Not a lot of time, but some energy and some praise from Bone afterward. ... Best line of the night came from DaVonté Lacy. Asked if Bone "snapped his fingers and tried to wake you guys up" at halftime, Lacy responded, "He did some form of that." Everyone laughed. Bone has been known to peel some paint in the locker room. ... Sacramento State coach Brian Katz couldn't be blamed if he felt a bit homered. His Hornets were whistled for 25 fouls, nearly double WSU's 13. And the Cougars outscored his group by 11 from the free-throw line, which just happened to be the final margin. Here's what happened to his bigs: Josh McCarver, who had 10 points, fouled out in 15 minutes. Starter Pete Rakocevic, 13 minutes, four fouls. Walter Jackson, four fouls in 21 minutes. In all, five Hornets had four or more fouls. Now most of the whistles weren't phantom calls, there was contact. But the Hornets just seemed to be on the wrong end more often. ... Motum has really come on. The 6-foot-10 Aussie (it's PC to write Aussie, right?) was nearly perfect on the offensive end, hitting 9-of-12 shots, 4-of-6 free throws and grabbing eight rebounds, evenly split between offense and defense.
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• That's it for tonight. We'll be back sometime tomorrow morning, I just can't guarantee when. Until then ...
