Washington State leads wire-to-wire in 76-68 win over Northern Iowa in Las Vegas

PULLMAN – Every hour or two in the past few days, Washington State men’s basketball coach David Riley would get a sinking feeling in his stomach.

He would remember what happened earlier this week in Seattle when his Cougars dropped a double-digit decision to rival Washington, falling victim to the turnover bug and playing porous defense.

“I’m so excited I don’t have to feel that over the Christmas break,” Riley said on Saturday afternoon.

WSU led wire-to-wire in a 76-68 victory over Northern Iowa in Las Vegas, putting its earlier loss in the rearview mirror.

Up by as many as 23 points , the Cougars produced balanced offense with Nate Calmese scoring 16 points, LeJuan Watts 14 and Dane Erikstrup 15, none bigger than the 3-pointer he hit late in the game after the Panthers had drawn within single digits.

It’s another feather in the cap of Riley, who engineered another win in even more shorthanded fashion than usual: On top of Cedric Coward, Ri Vavers and Marcus Wilson all missing the remainder of the season with injuries, sophomore guard Isaiah Watts also missed Saturday’s game with an undisclosed injury, giving the Cougars eight healthy scholarship players .

With the win, the Cougars completed their nonconference schedule 10-3 and get a week off before visiting Portland on Saturday to open West Coast Conference play.

“It was a heck of a start,” said Riley, whose team raced to a 21-6 lead. “I thought our guys played the most disciplined half we’ve played all season, that first half, and it was really exciting to see how good we can be when we’re playing that way.

“I think that’s an issue for our team right now – that we gotta be a little more consistent. We’re a little bit streaky right now. I’d like to see us go close those games out with a little more comfort, but a win is a win.”

The Cougars held the Panthers to 39% shooting from the field, a far cry from the nation-leading 53% figure with which they entered the game.

Erikstrup and forward Ethan Price finished with four fouls, but the Cougars weren’t in the kind of foul trouble that plagued them Wednesday in Seattle, and they held UNI to 4-for-22 shooting on 3-pointers – a much better defensive outing than allowing UW to go 10 for 21.

The Panthers didn’t reach double figures until more than 11 minutes of game time had passed. Northern Iowa hit 9 of 29 shots in the first half (31%), and the Cougs forced eight turnovers in the same span. WSU’s defense made it hard on the hosts to generate any momentum.

In the second half, after WSU secured a 49-26 halftime lead, that began to change. UNI put together a few promising stretches, including a 10-0 run to claw within 13.

A few moments later, the Panthers drew within 12, this time on a pair of free throws and a layup. And with about 8 minutes to go, they sliced the Cougs’ lead to nine with six straight points.

Every time, though, WSU had an answer. Early in the first half, it came from Erikstrup and forward ND Okafor, who combined for four points to re-establish a more comfortable margin. Later in the second half, true freshman Tomas Thrastarson – starting in place of Watts – had a layup, and freshman Kase Wynott found Okafor for a dunk, putting WSU back up 16.

The biggest basket of all, though, came from Erikstrup. With about 80 seconds to play, the shot clock at 20 seconds and WSU holding on to a 73-66 lead, Calmese knifed through the lane and passed it out to Erikstrup, who rose up for a corner 3-pointer. His shot all but clinched the win.

Erikstrup’s 15 points gave him double-digit outings in three of his past four games. Wing LeJuan Watts’ 14-point, 12-rebound showing was his fifth double-double of the season.

The Cougars might be shorthanded, but with a win over a high-scoring, veteran team like Northern Iowa, there are worse ways to head into conference play.

“That was the exact opposite of UW,” Riley said. “It was our least-disciplined game of the year, the least focused we’ve been, the most casual we’ve been. So I think we learned that lesson, hopefully, and we’ll able to carry that through the rest of the season.”