Oscar Cluff leads second-half charge as Washington State beats Oregon State 65-58 for first Pac-12 win
PULLMAN — Oscar Cluff has a way of turning back the clock. When he catches the ball inside, his Washington State teammates tend to get out of the way, letting their big center take over, letting the game morph into something out of yesteryear.
Cluff did it so many times in WSU’s 65-58 Oregon State on Thursday night. He totaled 20 points. He added 8 rebounds. He scored his team’s first nine points of the second half, almost single-handedly turning the tide of the Cougars’ Pac-12 home opener.
In short, that’s why Washington State held on for this win, snapping a two-game losing streak. The Cougs got a huge boost from Cluff, and they got another nice game from senior wing Andrej Jakimovski, who canned a crucial four 3-pointers in the second half for a total of 15 points.
“Just working — and then passes from the guys,” Cluff said. “They throw some good passees to me, which makes it a lot easier to catch and go straight up. So shoutout to them.”
It amounted to an encouraging win for WSU, which slogged through a listless first half, unable to hit anything away from the rim or at the foul line. The Cougs kept things close at the intermission, facing just a three-point deficit, but they were struggling so much on offense it bore wondering whether they could turn it around.
That they did so is a testament to the offensive production they lacked in their previous two losses. Jakimovski has now logged two straight games scoring in double figures, as did Cluff. Guard Myles Rice, who also registered a forgettable two outings prior, got going in Sunday’s second half to total 12 points.
“It’s awesome. He’s done that several times in games,” WSU coach Kyle Smith said. “He runs hot. He’s an emotional guy. He’s really smart. He has a really good brain. And he’s got a big presence. So as he learns to control his emotions and understand score and clock and time and in his first year — and (we were going to) just kinda let him play his way into it. But now it’s like, no, we need more from you.”
Still, the Cougs (10-4, 1-2 Pac-12) had to sweat it out. Oregon State center KC Ibekwe used a personal 9-0 run to help his club draw within two, 49-47, with about five minutes to play. Washington State’s promising second half threatened to crumble.
Only that’s when WSU’s offense roared back to life. Rice got downhill and finished a tough layup. Moments later, Jakimovski sank a triple, and Rice followed with another layup, this one to secure a 57-51 lead. After the Beavers countered with two free throws, Rice lasered a pass to WSU wing Jaylen Wells, who splashed a catch-and-shoot triple.
OSU had an answer for that, too. Christian Wright canned a deep 3. That trimmed WSU’s lead to 60-56. The clock was ticking, though, and the Cougs came back ready to kill clock — and Wells was ready to add to the lead.
That became clear when he dribbled into the lane, lining up a mid-range floater, when an OSU defender collided with him in the air. The whistle blew. Wells banked it home. He sank the free throw, ballooning the Cougs’ lead to seven, and Jakimovski finished it off with a perfect trip to the line.
“He’s been great for us,” Jakimovski said. “He can make shots any time and defensively, he’s getting better. He’s a really, really good rebounder. And for him, he just has to keep coming, keep coming. When we play big — when I’m at the two, Jaylen’s at three, Isaac and Oscar at four and five — that’s a huge lineup. That lineup has been working lately.”
Washington State returns to action on Saturday, hosting Oregon at 7 p.m.