Washington State runs win streak to six with 83-65 win over Grambling State

PULLMAN – There’s a lot to like about Myles Rice’s game. The shooting guard gives Washington State reliable ball-handling, consistent shooting and trustworthy basketball IQ.

In WSU’s 83-65 win over Grambling State on Sunday evening, Rice painted a glowing picture of the other sterling part of his game: his defense.

“He’s really good at that,” WSU coach Kyle Smith said. “He starts sniffing things out, he can really be a disruptive force, especially off the ball.”

Rice didn’t quite have it on offense, registering 14 points on 13 shots, so he turned the game by unlocking his defense, registering seven steals, six in the first half and one in the second. That helped the Cougars (8-1) post 21 points on turnovers, opening up a lead as wide as 19, winning their sixth straight in the final installment of this five-game homestand.

This part of Rice’s game has always gone understated, for several reasons: He’s only now making his WSU debut. He’s also so electric on offense that it’s easy to miss. He handles the ball so fluidly, shoots so efficiently, that his defense can get lost in the conversation around him.

Rice may have lost those privileges now. In Sunday’s first half, he surged into passing lanes, taking away what looked like routine swing passes on the perimeter. He ripped ball-handlers, sticking his hand in at the right time and poking the ball away. It’s one thing that he’s so athletic. It’s another the way he pairs it with his basketball smarts.

That’s good news for the Cougs on a number of levels, but particularly because their interior defense is humming. They have no shortage of size, from 6-foot-11 Rueben Chineylu and Oscar Cluff to 6-foot-9 Isaac Jones, and those guys are leveraging it well. Now, with 6-foot-7 Kymany Houinsou playing point guard in the absence of the injured Joseph Yesufu, their perimeter defense is coming together too.

That’s not to say it was perfect on Sunday, though. Tigers guard Kintavious Dozier lit up WSU for 34 points, cashing in with four triples, and he didn’t always seem bothered by the Cougs’ contests. That helped Grambling State stay in something resembling striking distance, drawing as close as 11 with six minutes to play.

But Washington State, which returns to action Saturday against Santa Clara in Phoenix for the Jerry Colangelo Classic, held off a rally by doing what it has all season: working the ball inside and winning in the paint. Jones logged 16 points, including a thunderous dunk in the first half, and Chinyelu used two of his own slams to finish with 14 points, a career-best for the true freshman. The second half is when Rice flashed his ability to find his teammates in transition, hitting Chinyelu for a pair of dunks on fast breaks.

“It definitely gives us energy,” WSU forward Jaylen Wells said. “Honestly, even though I’ve seen him dunk a million times, I’m surprised how high he gets every single time.”

The other development WSU is thrilled about: Wells’ shooting. In Sunday’s game, the junior knocked down 5 of 6 long balls for 17 points, which would have been his career best if he hadn’t tallied 18 points in a win over UC Riverside earlier in the week. Wells has now hit 8 of his last 12 from beyond the arc, a scorching 67%.

That threatens to unlock the Cougs’ offense like nothing else can. WSU makes no bones about its approach on offense: to pound the ball inside. But if guys like Rice and Wells are shooting reliably, opponents can’t double the post as often. If they do, they will pay for it. The Tigers did on Sunday.

“It helps balance the equation,” Chinyelu said. “Just keep a good equilibrium. If you don’t play this guy, this guy’s open, if you overplay this guy then this guy’s open. It gives us a variety of options to go through.”

For WSU, the only missing part of that equation is the shooting from forward Andrej Jakimovski, who finds himself in a bit of a slump. In Sunday’s game, he scored three points on five shots, sinking just one of the four long balls he tried. It’s the third straight off game for Jakimovski, who posted five points on six shots against UC Riverside and three points on seven shots against Portland State. Al together, he’s made just four of his last 18 shots, including two of his last 13 triples.

“He made some good drives, and I’d say he played the right play the right way today,” Smith said. “He didn’t get a lot of shots, but I don’t think he was turning anything down. I don’t think he was forcing anything either.”