Reserves preserve WSU’s win

PULLMAN – Washington State University’s starting five played a total of 111 minutes Saturday afternoon against Portland and scored 15 points.

So it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the 1,389 people who bothered to show up at Friel Court on the first day of WSU’s winter vacation witnessed a blowout.

What may be surprising – given that fact – is that it was WSU on the winning side of the scoreboard. That’s because two Cougars scored in double figures off the bench, and in 89 minutes reserves scored 46 points to pave the way for a 61-46 win that wasn’t as close as the score would suggest.

“A couple of our starters did not play well, and what a good lift our bench gave us, especially in the second half,” WSU associate head coach Tony Bennett, who spoke to the media in place of his father while head coach Dick Bennett battles a case of laryngitis. “Those guys know they have to produce, and that’s one thing we have not had here in the last two years.”

Ivory Clark, who had gone scoreless in the last two games, led the team with 12 points but it was Josh Akognon’s 10 that really helped WSU put the game away.

The Cougars (6-2) led Portland (4-6) 25-20 at the half but started the second on a 23-6 run. Akognon scored all 10 of his points in that stretch, adding two assists and two steals.

“Seeing that the starters weren’t scoring too much, we pushed the mind-set that we had to,” Akognon said. “I feel like that in practice a lot, but I’ve never really done it in a game. Everything’s pretty much robotic.”

It also didn’t hurt that WSU more or less eliminated the Pilots’ top threat, guard Pooh Jeter.

Averaging 16 per game coming in, Jeter went 1 of 12 from the floor and managed just five points. Darren Cooper, with 18, was the only Pilot in double figures.

“From our standpoint, the story of the game was their defense was better than our offense,” Portland coach Michael Holton said. “They were more cohesive, more focused, more determined, and clearly played with more energy.”

Senior Randy Green was primarily responsible for the solid defense on Jeter, and in his 26 minutes he might have been the most impressive Cougars starter. Derrick Low and Robbie Cowgill, WSU’s top two scorers coming in, struggled to get anything done on offense, and neither played more than 25 minutes. Between them, they hit two field goals and scored five points.

“We wanted him to attack more off the dribble and get in and just be more of a threat, whether it’s looking for a shot or getting into the lane,” Tony Bennett said of Low. “Derrick’s a good player, but sometimes it’s a mystery why he won’t attack the game.”

Perhaps it was because of the lack of production from the starters, but WSU once again went 11 deep, with three more players getting garbage time in the final 2 minutes.

Dick Bennett has repeatedly expressed a desire to whittle down the rotation to nine players, but at the moment that doesn’t seem likely. Tony Bennett joked after the game that the current top nine might not include Cowgill, and he will certainly be a major part of the Cougars season, now just one game away from entering the Pacific-10 Conference schedule.

“It’s nice to be able to get your consistent rotation, but I don’t think you can say that yet,” the younger Bennett said. “We just have to take who’s playing well.”

Notes

WSU’s Rodney Edgerson also played well off the bench, scoring eight points in 10 minutes after a solid week of practice. … Chris Matthews of the Cougars played 15 minutes – five in the first half – after sitting out the previous three games. … Freshman Brandon Gibson, who started the second half of the football season at wide receiver for WSU in the fall, is apparently considering the possibility of walking on to the basketball team, although he hasn’t practiced with the Cougars yet.

WSU 61, Portland 46

Percentages: FG .378, FT .714. 3-Point Goals: 2-10, .200 (Cooper 2-6, Jeter 0-4). Team Rebounds: 1. Blocked Shots: 1 (Jackson). Turnovers: 12 (Wilson 4, Lewis 3, Cooper, Jeter, Dominguez, McTear, Carter). Steals: 3 (Lewis, Jeter, Watson). Technical Fouls: Team.

Percentages: FG .500, FT .846. 3-Point Goals: 6-12, .500 (Akognon 2-4, Matthews 2-5, Weaver 1-1, Low 1-2). Team Rebounds: 3. Blocked Shots: 5 (Cowgill, Green, Campbell, Clark, Forrest). Turnovers: 13 (Cowgill 3, Baynes 2, Low 2, Henry 2, Weaver, Campbell, Clark, Team). Steals: 4 (Akognon 2, Weaver, Clark). Technical Fouls: None.

Halftime–Washington State 25, Portland 20. A–1,389.