WSU holds off Colorado, 78-69, boosting tournament resume with fifth win in six tries
PULLMAN – Not long before Myles Rice got to the rim and iced another Washington State win, this time 78-69 over Colorado on Saturday afternoon, he collided with a Buffaloes player on a drive. He sustained a noticeable limp.
He was already dealing with a lingering quad injury. WSU coach Kyle Smith was trying to limit his minutes anyway. The game was teetering. The Cougars, who had been up as many as 13 points, had just a three-point lead with 90 seconds left. Beasley Coliseum’s second-largest crowd of the season – 3,273 – grew restless.
With a chance to secure another Quad 1 win, an important addition to their NCAA Tournament resume, how would they respond?
Rice provided the answer himself. He got to the rim for two straight layups. He shrugged off any pain that might have been bothering him and pushed the Cougs across the finish line, securing their fifth win in six tries, locking up their third Quad 1 win of the year.
“100% confidence,” said WSU forward Isaac Jones, who totaled 13 points and 11 rebounds, referring to Rice. “The kid is fast. He can get to the basket whenever. I feel great when the ball is in his hands in situations like that, especially when they tried to trap, because he’s just gonna break the trap and do what he just did.”
WSU got double-digit scoring from four players: Wing Jaylen Wells and Rice each scored 17, Jones added 13 points and senior Andrej Jakimovski added 11. Freshman center Rueben Chinyelu added six points and three blocks, including one at the rim on CU star Cody Williams, projected to be a top-five NBA draft pick this summer.
Washington State (15-6, 6-4 Pac-12) may feel encouraged by this win more than others. Rice sat for a good chunk of the first half with foul trouble – but his team kept the lead and added to it. The Cougars had just six turnovers, their fewest this season in conference play. In crunch time, after Colorado guard KJ Simpson hit a 3-pointer to pull the Buffaloes within four with 34 seconds left, Jones followed with a three-point play, all but sealing the win.
After the game, WSU coach Kyle Smith was most proud of one thing.
“They kept their poise when their head coach didn’t,” Smith said.
Smith was referring to one stretch in the second half when the Buffaloes put together a rally. Guard Tristan da Silva hit back-to-back 3-pointers, using an apparent push-off on Rice to get space for the second. Minutes later, Rice had a layup blocked, but Smith saw a goaltend, prompting him to react and get a technical foul, leading to two Colorado free throws, which turned into a 7-0 CU run.
That helped the Buffaloes cut the deficit to 63-60. Also in that span, officials ejected two fans from the game. Colorado was creeping back into the game.
Foul trouble was also starting to plague the Cougs. They played the final few minutes with three starters saddled with four fouls: Wells, Rice and center Oscar Cluff, who totaled five points. If the Buffaloes were going to steal this one, they had all the ingredients.
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“It’s leadership,” Smith said. “Myles was great. He was like, ‘Coach, calm down.’ I was just mad that I was arguing over a blocked shot. I missed it. My wife – she’s in trouble if I see it and it was a goaltend. I’m like, ‘Am I that crazy?’ It was a tight game.”
The Cougs got several key baskets to help them hold on. One came from true freshman guard Isaiah Watts, who capped an 11-2 run with a 3-pointer. On the previous trip, WSU got a dunk from Cluff. Then Watts hit the 3-pointer and the Cougars went up 13.
“I don’t think he misses, actually,” said Wells, who pulled down 10 rebounds.
“He’s Mr. Big Shot,” added Jones, who had 11 boards, good for his sixth double-double of the season.
“When it happens, it’s like, ‘That’s what he does,’ ” Wells said. “We know Rueben blocks. We know Isaiah is gonna shoot big shots – and he’s gonna make them.”
In the closing minutes, Washington State went back to Jones. His team nursing a 63-60 lead, Jones backed his man down and curled to his left, leaning in for a layup to push the lead to five. Couple those with Rice’s two layups and you can see the Cougs’ clutch shot-making in the win.
But they might not have secured the win without playing some of their best defense of the season. Williams scored six points, one of his lowest outputs of the year, and did not make a field-goal attempt for the first time this season. He’s missed time with injury, but never had he been limited like this.
The Cougs yielded 25 points to Simpson, who burned them for 34 points in their last meeting, and gave up another 16 to da Silva. They’ve permitted a few big-scoring games this winter, but WSU’s interior defense is coming together. Thanks to shot-blockers like Chinyelu and Jones, the Buffaloes converted just 9 of 20 layups.
That level of rim protection is valuable on its own. The Cougars like to leverage it into fast-break opportunities, which led to six points against Colorado.
“Whenever I see a guy go in, I’m protecting my house first,” Chinyelu said. “My house is on fire. I have to go put out the fire.”
With the win, WSU has moved up to No. 45 in the KenPom rankings. The Cougars entered the day at the same spot in the NET rankings, which change every morning, so they could ascend in those, too. For them, the important part is they’re continuing to offset their Quad 3 loss to Cal last weekend with quality wins, like Quad 1 victories over Utah on Wednesday and Colorado on Saturday.
Washington State travels to Seattle on Saturday to take on Washington.
Assistant coach Shaw escorted to locker room during second half
WSU associate head coach Jim Shaw, for all intents and purposes the team’s defensive coordinator, suffered a medical scare during the second half. The exact nature was unclear, but officials helped him from the bench to the locker room, where he continued to receive treatment.
“He’s gonna be OK,” Smith said. “Talked to Dr. (Ed) Tingstad after the game. I don’t know all the details. I think he’s gonna be fine. You know it was something serious in the sense that he’s not gonna be on the bench. I’m gonna go check on him as soon as we get out of here.”