WSU uses second-half run to pull away from Pacific in 87-70 victory
PULLMAN – Ace Glass had to do his best gymnastics impression to score his first basket on Wednesday night. It came early in the second half, when Washington State was looking to build its lead on visiting Pacific, and the Cougars were exiting a timeout.
So on a drive to the basket, Glass left his feet, only to realize that he didn’t have a great angle at the rim. So he brought the ball down, adjusted his body like a trapeze artist, then went back up on the right side. He banked it in easily off the window, handing his Cougars a seven-point lead.
The team’s nascent freshman star, Glass has made a habit out of similar acrobatic finishes this season. But usually, when his scoring has diminished, the Cougs’ winning ways have gone with it. That’s the kind of load Glass has been asked to carry this winter.
Above all, that’s what makes WSU’s 87-70 win over Pacific so unique, so fascinating. He scored just seven points, all in the second half, as the Tigers placed a high priority on taking him out of the game. So all the Cougs did was make just about every shot they looked at, dispatching the WCC’s fourth-place team in relatively comfortable fashion.
Junior wing Ri Vavers connected on five triples for 21 points, forward ND Okafor posted 15 points, forward Eemeli Yalaho tallied 10 and in his first game since late December, sophomore guard Tomas Thrastarson came off the bench to total 11 points and five rebounds, ending his 12-game absence. That helped the Cougars rip off a key 16-2 run in the second half, cruising to the finish line.
“Just really, really proud of this group,” said WSU coach David Riley, whose team might have notched its best win of the season with this result. “Had a longer break before this game. Early in the season as the team was coming together, like all teams, when their backs were against the wall, when things got tough, they went with who they trusted most, which, which was themselves. I thought today, we all understood the gravity of the game and how it’s a must-win game, and our backs were against the wall. It was just a really clear example of how we trusted the team.”
The Cougars also sunk 14 of 28 shots from beyond the arc, a remarkable clip of 50%, getting another three treys from forward Simon Hildebrandt and two apiece from Yalaho and guard Jerone Morton – the latter of whom played a key role in kickstarting the run the hosts used to pull away.
With about 12 minutes to play, the Tigers pulled to within one on a 3-pointer from guard TJ Wainwright, capping an 8-2 run for the visitors. It had all the makings of the kinds of runs that opponents have used to sink WSU: The team creeps back into the game, puts together a few baskets and, before they know it, the Cougs are looking at a deficit they can’t erase.
Instead, Washington State followed by scoring 16 of the next 18 points: two triples from Morton, two layups from Okafor and one long ball apiece from Hildebrandt and Glass. By the end of the avalanche, WSU was standing atop a 75-60 lead.
After the game, Riley acknowledged that the credit for kickstarting the run might go to Morton – “rightfully so,” Riley said. But roaming the sideline, Riley noticed another development that got his team going when things got dicey.
“I don’t know exactly who it was, but I know Ri was part of the mix, getting some offensive rebounds, getting some hustle plays,” Riley said, “getting a couple stops, and digging out a loose ball on the weak side. I think that was Ace. Just finding ways to break their momentum. Then obviously hitting those shots and getting our run started as well, was huge for us.”
Earlier on Wednesday, WSU got a bit more clarity on the status of forward Emmanuel Ugbo, who has now served five games of a suspension, which Riley said was for a violation of team rules. Ugbo had a temporary protection order against him filed by a WSU volleyball player, and at a hearing Wednesday morning, a Whitman County judge extended it to a full year.
But after Wednesday’s game, Riley declined to comment on the situation, saying, “right now, it’s still ongoing. I can’t comment on it.”
In the Whitman County Superior Court’s view, the matter is no longer ongoing. Still, Riley has stayed mum on the matter, declining to offer details on what the new development means for the rest of Ugbo’s season. In 22 games, Ugbo has averaged 6.7 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.
WSU returns to action on Saturday to host second-place Saint Mary’s, which had to eke out a road win over Seattle U on Wednesday night. Earlier in January, the Cougars fell to the Gaels in an 88-82 decision, scoring more in Moraga than any other opponent has all season.