Washington State wins fourth straight, edging Stanford 67-63

Star guard TJ Bamba came alive in the second half and Washington State picked up a hard-earned road win, powering past Stanford 67-63 on Thursday night at Maples Pavilion.

Bamba scored 17 of his game-high 22 points after halftime, including a go-ahead floater with 44 seconds remaining, as the Cougars (14-15, 9-9 Pac-12) extended their late-season winning streak to four games and improved to 2-8 on the road.

“He was a stud,” Cougars coach Kyle Smith said on the WSU postgame radio show of Bamba, the team’s leading scorer on the season. “He was just really poised, picking his spots, getting guys up in the air and getting to the rim.”

Bamba, who’s been playing through a hand injury for the past nine games, had one of his most efficient performances of the season, shooting 7 of 10 from the floor in the second half (3 of 3 from deep) to finish 9 of 14 overall (4 of 5 on 3s). Bamba set a new career high in scoring against Pac-12 competition during perhaps his strongest offensive game in a WSU uniform.

WSU went ahead by a game-high eight points midway through the second half, but Stanford surged back on a hot-shooting stretch to take a 1-point lead – its first lead of the half – with 3:29 remaining. Cougar forward Andrej Jakimovski responded with a 3 before the Cardinal (11-17, 5-12) tied it up at 63.

The teams traded misses until Bamba found space in the paint and flipped in a clutch shot. WSU’s post defense came up with a stop on the other end. The Cougars passed the ball around the perimeter and drained 10 seconds off the clock before Stanford fouled. Coug forward DJ Rodman knocked down game-clinching free throws with 14 seconds left.

Stanford missed its last seven shot attempts and went the final 2:51 without a point.

“We had some rough spots down the stretch, where we couldn’t get a stop, but we played with good poise and toughness,” Smith said. “(Rodman) didn’t have one of his best games by any stretch, but he made two big free throws and we handled ourselves well up two.”

Cougar big man Mouhamed Gueye scored 15 points (6 of 8) and tallied 15 rebounds for his conference-leading 13th double-double. The 6-foot-11 sophomore is averaging 17.8 points and 10.5 rebounds per game during WSU’s winning streak.

“Mo with another double-double – tremendous,” Smith said. “Awesome game, especially on the road.”

Jakimovski chipped in 11 points. Guard Justin Powell contributed five assists, with no turnovers, and scored all nine of his points in the second half, including a crucial 3 late.

WSU shot 50% from the field overall and 12 of 25 (48%) on 3-pointers. The Cougars hit a handful of timely 3s in the second half, tempering Stanford’s bursts of momentum.

Forwards Brandon Angel and Harrison Ingram had 17 and 15 points, respectively, to lead the Cardinal, who shot 43% from the field and 8 of 20 (40%) from distance.

WSU hit 7 of its last 9 field goals in the first half and went into the break with a 30-28 lead. The Cougars shot 55% in the opening period and went 5 of 10 on 3s but committed nine of their 15 turnovers. The teams were locked in a one-possession game for 16 of the first 20 minutes, and gaining separation proved difficult after intermission.

The Cougars have won four of the last five games against Stanford in a series that had been dominated by the Cardinal during the 2010s. WSU has beaten Stanford on the road in each of the past two seasons – the Cougs’ first winning streak at Maples Pavilion since 1982-83.

WSU looks for a season sweep of the Bay Area schools when it meets California for a 2 p.m. tipoff Saturday in Berkeley.