Moore Powers Cougars Freshman Pours In 25 Points As WSU Defeats Montana Cougars 67 Grizzlies 54

Brent Cummings’ homecoming turned into Marcus Moore’s coming out party.

Moore, Washington State University’s freshman guard, scored a career-high 25 points, dished out a couple of assists, had a career-high six steals and even had time to give a wink and a smile to a heckler in the Cougars’ 67-54 win over Montana in front of 2,023 at Friel Court on Tuesday night.

The Cougars moved to 4-2, while Montana fell to 3-5.

“You saw a guard, Marcus Moore, come of age,” said WSU coach Paul Graham.

“The scouting report on Marcus is play off him, he can’t shoot. He can shoot. He proved that tonight.”

“Every time it left my hand, it felt good,” said Moore.

That was obvious by his 9-of-12 shooting performance. At the opposite end of the spectrum was Cummings. The Pullman High grad was 0 of 7 from the field and 1 of 2 from the free-throw line. He also had two turnovers.

“I think he did feel a little pressure,” said Montana coach Don Holst.

“I wasn’t nervous,” said Cummings, a sophomore guard/forward. “I would say more anxious. Some of my shots felt pretty good. I had a couple of easy shots around the basket, those should’ve gone down. I make those then maybe that gets me off.”

But the Montana loss should not be placed on just the shoulders of Cummings. Montana lost it because it lost composure against the Washington State press.

The Grizzlies turned the ball over seven of their first eight possessions in the second half. Their first shot didn’t come until the 16:40 mark of the second half. Their first bucket didn’t come until the 15:02 mark.

That drought turned what was a one-point Montana halftime advantage into an eight-point disadvantage, 49-41.

“They got tired,” said WSU guard David Adams. “We turned up the defense, and they wore down.”

“People don’t realize what happens with a press is it wears you out mentally,” added Graham.

Still, the Grizzlies gathered their wits and made a run, aided in large part by more than a few of the Cougars’ 23 turnovers.

Montana got as close as 49-48 with 10:30 left when Jared Buckmaster hit from the top of the key. But Moore, who was unchecked all night, began to make the Grizzlies defense pay. Moore hit a 3-pointer from the top that ignited a 16-3 run that put the game out of reach.

“I told my coaches earlier today that this was going to be our night,” said Moore. “I’ve been waiting for someone to play off me so I can get the ball in the hole.”

Moore accomplished that. But he also had a team-high six turnovers.

“When I look at the stats, that’s what I see, those six turnovers, not the 25 points,” he said. “I know my coaches are going to get on me about that.”

Montana point guard Shane Christensen had six turnovers, and most of them were forced by Moore.

“I was just playing good defense and that guy was making mistakes with the ball,” Moore said.

Like not passing it. Time and again Montana had players open down court as the Cougars pressed. But they rarely found those players for easy transition buckets. Instead, the Grizzlies were forced into a half-court offense that produced 30 percent shooting in the second half and 37 percent shooting for the game.

Only forward Dan Trammel was an effective weapon for Grizzlies. He finished with 16 points. But he was forced to sit much of the second half because of foul trouble At the other end of the floor, the Cougars shot 61 percent in the second half and 48 percent for the game. Jerry McNair, the Cougars’ leading scorer coming into the game (13.6 ppg), was shut out, but everybody else who played scored.

WSU 67, Montana 54

Montana (3-5) - Trammel 6-13 4-5 16, Buckmaster 4-12 0-0 9, Slider 2-4 2-2 8, Carr 2-3 0-0 6, Christensen 3-6 0-0 6, Allred 2-3 1-2 5, Greenwalt 1-6 1-1 3, Cummings 0-7 1-2 1. Totals 20-54 9-12 54.

Washington State (4-2) - Moore 9-12 4-4 25, Miller 3-8 6-6 12, Adams 3-4 2-2 10, Little 3-6 1-3 7, Locklier 1-3 4-7 6, Riley 1-4 3-4 5, Clark 1-2 0-0 2, McNair 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 21-44 20-26 67.

Halftime-Montana 36, Washington St. 35. 3-Point goals- Montana 5-18 (Carr 2-2, Slider 2-3, Buckmaster 1-8, Greenwalt 0-1, Cummings 0-2, Christensen 0-2), Washington St. 5-14 (Moore 3-6, Adams, 2-3, Little 0-1, McNair 0-3, Miller 0-1). Rebounds - Montana 25 (Allred, Slider, Trammel 4), Washington St. 37 (Locklier 7). Assists - Montana 6 (Christensen 4), Washington St. 6 (Moore 2). Total fouls-Montana 20, Washington St. 17. A-2,023.