WSU shoots past Idaho, 88-71
COUGARS
We have a question on the link for you Cougar fans. Especially those of you who like to comment here. And we have more on the Washington State win over Idaho, so read on.
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• The question we have is not too tough. Is the tweeting during the game being read? I wonder because there is not much in the way of feedback, either through Twitter – though I do see some mentions – but mainly through this blog. I kind of remember a lot more comments for basketball in the past, and expected a few tonight what with the Reggie Moore news. Just asking. ... As for Moore, coach Ken Bone said he has a slight fracture in his scaphoid bone, a small one that is in your wrist. According to what I've read, the bone heals slowly due to a lack of blood flow in the area. Moore is in a cast and the hope is he'll be back in a couple weeks. But Bone, who we quote in our game story tonight, doesn't see too confident. ... Without him, the Cougars just don't have enough depth at guard to compete with the tougher teams on their schedule. When they get a game that's called as inconsistently as tonight's was – Don Verlin received a T for arguing just that, a charged not called on one end that's called on his – that lack of depth will show. Even Bone said Klay Thompson is already playing too much and the meat of the schedule hasn't arrived yet. ... Moore had a way of keeping DeAngelo Casto happy inside, finding his friend for one or two easy dunks a game. Casto will miss that. ... Thompson is so much better handling the ball today than he was two years ago. He split the defenders up top on UI's zone at least four times Tuesday, rising up and taking the ball to the rim. ... Faisal Aden really was the difference on the offensive end tonight. He still can't stay with anyone coming off screens, but he makes up for it by draining shots. At times tonight, he was the only one. But when Patrick Simon and Thompson started helping, the Cougars pulled away. ... Bone said that he stayed with Simon through an awful stretch tonight because of his personality. Simon is cool and collected. Bone said if it had been anyone else, he probably would have pulled the plug, but with Simon, he knows he can play through it. I've known Patrick for a long time and that's one of his best attributes, his ability to stay even-keeled. When he was younger it worked to his detriment because he wouldn't take over games that he should have. Now it allows him not to get caught up in the backwash of a game, to start feeling sorry for himself and get down. He stays in it. He'll be a help this season. ... Dre Winston may not be, though it's still early. He is struggling on the defensive end and seems a little out of sorts on the offensive side. The competition only gets tougher. ... The Cougars don't play again until next Tuesday in Seattle. Then they'll spend Thanksgiving on the road in Fresno, where they play a week from Friday. They have a home date with Sacramento State before playing Kansas State and Gonzaga over a five-day stretch.
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• Here's a rough draft or our story for tomorrow's paper ...
PULLMAN – Washington State had two opponents it had to overcome Tuesday night before 6,024 at Beasley Coliseum.
One was the Idaho Vandals, the Cougars' rival from down the road in Moscow, who they have been playing for 104 years. They dealt with them, riding a 15-0 second-half run to a convincing 88-71 victory.
The other was adversity, most notably in the form of a cast on the left wrist of sophomore point guard Reggie Moore.
Moore, a Pac-10 all-freshman team selection last season, will be out as he deals with a slightly fractured scaphoid bone. He didn't play in the opener against Southern and may not be back until next month.
"He's hoping it will heal quickly," said WSU coach Ken Bone. "I'm not a doctor, so I'm not exactly sure what the percentages are, but they're not great."
Without Moore, the Cougars offense morphed into a longer-range one against the Vandals (1-1).
"I feel like we shoot more 3s," said post DeAngelo Casto, one of three Cougars in double figures with 10 – on just six shots. "Reggie's such a penetrator, if you don't guard him he's getting layups or he's dishing off to the bigs."
WSU hit 7 of its first 10 shots to jump ahead 17-2 – with Faisal Aden pouring in seven of his game-high 26 – but frittered almost all of it away as Jeff Ledbetter came off the bench to drain four 3-pointers.
Behind his 12 first-half points – Ledbetter finished with 18 on 6-of-9 shooting beyond the arc – the lead was 43-38 at the half.
"They jumped on us quick," said Idaho coach Don Verlin. "Klay (Thompson) hit a couple shots, Faisal hit a couple shots, we had a couple miscues in our defensive assignments and they were up 17-2.
"But I thought we did a good job of battling back and making a game of it."
"It's a lot different without Reggie, the depth at guard is a lot slimmer," said Thompson, who took up the slack with a career-high nine assists – only three turnovers – to compliment his 23 points. "Obviously we are not as good without him, but we're still a really good team."
That lack of depth showed in the Vandals' runs, as the 6-foot-3 Ledbetter, 5-11 Landon Tatum, who came off the bench to add quickness and 12 points, and 6-8 Luiz Toledo (13 points, five rebounds) helped UI cut the lead to 49-47 with 16 minutes, 25 seconds to play.
"We came right back," Bone said. "Last year there were games where we did not deal with that type of adversity very well."
The Cougars (2-0) dealt with it by going on a 15-0 ruin fueled by defense – UI had seven consecutive turnovers and eight in nine possessions – and offense from Aden and freshman Patrick Simon, who combined for 12 of the points.
Simon came off the bench to commit three consecutive fouls while UI pulled within two. He expected to sit right back down. But Bone stayed with him and Simon rewarded the confidence.
"He stayed with me and kind of built me up," Simon said of Bone leaving him on the floor. "I thought, 'OK, I'm good to go here.' "
Now the Cougars will have to figure out a way to be confident despite not having Moore on the court. It will probably start with Thompson.
"He's getting better and better at handling the ball and distributing it," Bone said. "We're going to need him and other guys to do that. He can't be the only one because we need him to shoot it too."
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• That's all for now. We'll be back in the morning. Until then ...
