A tale of two teams
Two days after showing everything they have the potential to be in an impressive win against Stanford, Washington State again showed everything they have the potential to be in a depressing loss against California.
For 20 minutes and 32 seconds against the Bears, WSU made one shot from the floor. In that time, a manageable six-point deficit turned into a 20-point blowout and the Cougars had sealed their own fate.
“For a good share of the game we were the Cougars of old. Just very little energy,” a disappointed Dick Bennett said after his team had lost 59-47 even after making a comeback in the final minutes. “We were a little lax in attacking. We’ve had a few of those droughts, believe me, we have.”
But that didn’t make WSU’s difficulties any less surprising, especially since they came on the heels of 60-51 win against the Cardinal. Still, the Cougars (6-5, 1-1 Pac-10) came out bumbling along with double dribbles, poor post defense and horrific outside shooting before a library-quiet crowd of 3,034 at the Arena.
Cal guard Richard Midgely scored a game-high 22 points but his most significant contribution may have come on the defensive end, where he held WSU’s Thomas Kelati to four points, including an 0 for 5 afternoon from 3-point range. The Cougars shot 1 of 16 from beyond the arc and just 29.8 percent as a whole, making things easy for the Bears (8-4, 1-1) as they slowly extended their lead.
“We couldn’t make shots in the second half. We came out cold,” said Jeff Varem, who was the lone Cougar with any offensive prowess much of the way, scoring 15 points. “I’m not going to say they stopped us from doing anything. I put the blame on us. We just didn’t execute.”
Bennett began substituting early when it was clear that his team was sleepwalking, but no one off the bench provided much of a spark until freshman Kyle Weaver came in with 10 minutes left in the game and forced his way to the paint or the free throw line for eight points, more than three of the team’s starters managed.
“I’ve spent a year-and-a-half in Pullman, so I’m used to searching for players,” said Bennett, whose team hasn’t played a game on Friel Court in nearly four weeks. “We’ve been on the road for so long, we’ve been in motels for so long, we really looked weary.
“But that is not an excuse that should carry much water. The fact is we were thoroughly outplayed. We had a nice stretch the last eight minutes that gives us some hope, but up to that point we were pretty sad.”
Notes
Forward Shami Gill was unable to play because of persistent back problems, moving freshman Robbie Cowgill into the starting lineup. Bennett said Gill’s absence was one reason for his team’s poor play. “Shami is a very active, hustling kind of a player and that was a factor,” he said. “But I don’t think it would have made much of a difference.” … Josh Akognon was 0 for 4 against Cal, with all four misses coming from 3-point range. The freshman guard hasn’t hit a shot in the last four games after scoring 21 points against Gonzaga and BYU in the previous two. … WSU remains on the road next week, traveling to Los Angeles to play UCLA on Thursday and USC on Saturday.
California 59, Washington State 47
California (8-4, 1-1)–Kately 3-9 2-2 8, Hardin 0-1 2-4 2, Benson 5-8 3-4 13, Midgley 6-16 8-9 22, Smith 2-6 2-4 6, McGuire 1-4 1-2 3, Vierneisel 1-1 0-0 3, Langford 0-3 2-4 2, Paris 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-48 20-29 59.
Washington State (6-5, 1-1)–Schlatter 1-4 0-0 3, Varem 4-6 7-9 15, Cowgill 3-8 2-4 8, Low 2-8 0-0 4, Kelati 2-8 0-0 4, Akognon 0-4 0-0 0, Green 0-1 2-2 2, Henry 0-3 1-2 1, Weaver 1-4 6-7 8, Simmons 0-0 0-0 0, Harmeling 1-1 0-2 2. Totals 14-47 18-26 47.
Halftime–California 33, Washington State 23. 3-point goals–California 3-9 (Midgley 2-7, Vierneisel 1-1, Kately 0-1), Washington State 1-16 (Schlatter 1-2, Low 0-2, Weaver 0-3, Akognon 0-4, Kelati 0-5). Fouled out–None. Rebounds–California 40 (McGuire 10), Washington State 32 (Varem 8). Assists–California 5 (Smith 2), Washington State 8 (Low, Weaver 2). Total fouls–California 20, Washington State 25. A–3,034.