Four Cougs score in double figures in victory

PULLMAN – Forty minutes into the season, Washington State sophomore guard Marcus Capers can already sense the difference from a year ago.

Klay Thompson doesn’t feel as much pressure to score. DeAngelo Casto has help in the paint. And Faisal Aden, a junior college transfer, seems poised to make a big splash.

“Last year it was pretty much on Klay,” said Capers after the Cougars’ 86-47 rout of Southern on Saturday night. “… I feel like this year, on any given night, we might have a different dude scoring or we might have a different set of five guys in double figures.”

Aden, a 6-foot-4 junior guard, showcased a quick release and nice ball skills in his WSU debut. He had a game-high 18 points – despite a 1-of-8 showing from behind the 3-point line – to pace the Cougars’ well-rounded offensive performance in front of 6,173 at Beasley Coliseum.

DeAngelo Casto chipped in 16 points off the bench in the season opener, including nine in a row in the second half, and Brock Motum matched a career high with 14 points.

Thompson, last year’s leading scorer, was an efficient 6 of 10 from the field for 15 points. The junior was more than happy to defer on a night when he spent more time at point guard with Reggie Moore out indefinitely with a wrist injury.

“Just looking at the stats, we had a really balanced scoring effort,” Thompson said. “That just takes a lot of weight off my shoulders, a lot of weight off Reggie’s shoulders to have teammates that can score. We’re a lot more balanced now.”

Moore aggravated a previous wrist injury that occurred outside of practice, coach Ken Bone said. He’ll have X-rays today and is day-to-day heading into Tuesday’s clash versus Idaho.

Southern – which gave up 117 points to Gonzaga on Friday night – went 15 minutes of the first half without a field goal. WSU took advantage of the Jaguars’ severe drought with a 30-3 spurt, punctuated by a Thompson drive and bucket.