Cougars Can’T Find Winning Formula On Road

Washington State found no comfort in the foothills of the Wasatch mountains.

The Cougars fumbled away any chance of upsetting Utah midway through the first half in their 87-63 defeat Saturday at the Huntsman Center.

Aided by four consecutive WSU turnovers, Utah used a 21-3 run to break open what was a six-point game at the 10-minute mark of the first half.

With their comfortable lead in tow, the Utes never again were threatened.

After falling behind 18-7, the Cougars clawed back to within six points. But on consecutive possessions they had four turnovers, two missed shots and a missed free throw.

The Utes, meanwhile, scored on 6 of 9 possessions during their game-breaking run.

As coach Paul Graham sees it, the Cougars need to develop maturity in order to be successful in hostile environments.

“We play good at home and terrible on the road,” he said. “With a young basketball team like we have, we’ve got to understand you can’t play all your games at home. We’ve got to get back to the court to practice.”

The Cougars also did not have as much talent as Utah, which started the season ranked in the Top 25 before suffering a three-game losing streak.

The Utes, who go 10 deep, had four players score in double figures.

Washington State’s offense consisted mainly of Eddie Miller and Marcus Moore, who combined to score nearly half of the team’s points.

Utah was paced by one that got away from the Cougars. Phil Cullen, who starred at Chelan High, three hours from Pullman, scored a game-high 21 points on 6-of-8 shooting.

The junior forward, who signed a contract with the Seattle Mariners last summer as a pitcher, has been Utah’s most consistent offensive weapon this season.

“I’m not going to create anything,” said Cullen. “I just fall into it. Most of my shots were off other people’s dribbles.”

Washington State recruited Cullen, but he said he never was seriously interested. He was more interested in attending Washington, but the Huskies never came through with a solid scholarship offer.

“It’s fun to put the stick to those guys, the schools that recruited me,” he said.

After spending two seasons as a reserve, Cullen is now one of Utah’s leaders. His leadership is especially needed, given the fact Utah has lost coach Rick Majerus until January.

Majerus, who has turned the reins over to assistant Dick Hunsaker, is in Las Vegas trying to lose weight and rehabilitate a bad knee.

“Despite the fact Rick is not here, his system is still here,” Graham said. “They know what to do and they have good players.”

Majerus has built a national program on the strength of defense and rebounding. The Utes held Washington State to 35 percent shooting and enjoyed a 10-rebound margin.

Utah 87, Washington State 63

Washington State (4-3) - Little 1-4 6-8 8, Miller 7-16 1-2 17, Locklier 2-4 3-6 7, Moore 2-9 8-8 14, Adams 0-3 0-0 0, McNair 3-4 0-1 8, Minor 1-1 0-0 3, Graham 1-2 0-0 2, Clark 0-1 0-0 0, Riley 0-1 3-4 3, Harris 0-3 0-0 0, Rower 0-0 1-3 1. Totals 17-48 22-32 63.

Utah (5-4) - B. Johnsen 3-6 4-6 11, Cullen 6-8 4-6 21, Burgess 0-0 0-0 0, Bradley 3-7 6-6 12, Jacobson 0-0 4-4 4, Jackson 0-0 0-0 0, Walkenhorst 0-0 0-0 0, Spivey 1-2 1-2 3, Koford 0-0 1-3 1, Caton 1-1 0-0 3, J. Johnsen 1-4 7-8 10, Allred 2-2 4-4 8, Puzey 2-2 4-5 8, Althoff 1-1 4-4 6, Taylor 0-0 0-0 0, Schow 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-33 39-48 87.

Halftime-Utah 49, Washington State 30. 3-Point goals- Washington State 7-17 (McNair 2-2, Moore 2-5, Miller 2-6, Minor 1-1, Clark 0-1, Adams 0-2), Utah 8-12 (Cullen 5-6, Caton 1-1, B. Johnsen 1-1, Caton 1-1, J. Johnsen 1-3, Bradley 0-1). Fouled out- Little, Riley, Allred. Rebounds-Washington State 21 (Locklier 5), Utah 31 (Cullen 6). Assists-Washington State 9 (Graham 3), Utah 17 (Bradley 5). Total fouls-Washington State 30, Utah 27. Technicals-None. A-12,049.