The WSU Cougars welcomed the conference-leading California Golden Bears to Beasley Coliseum this afternoon. The game started slow with the teams trading buckets back-and-forth before Faisal Aden came in with 16:51 left in the half and went on a tear, scoring WSU's next eight points. However, the Bears maintained their lead throughout the first half, at one point leading by as many as 11 before the Cougs managed to reel them back in. By the time the halftime buzzer sounded Cal led by six at 40-34. Returning from the locker room, the Cougs went on a 13-4 run to take the lead by three with 17:27 left to play, but California would respond with a run of its own to go back up, 56-49. The Cougs continued to trail California by low single digits until just under the seven-minute mark when WSU tied the game up for a third time at 62 all. This time the Cougs stuck with the Bears, preventing any large runs and pressured them for the lead. With only 1:32 left to play in the game WSU and Cal were tied at 74-74. The two exchanged missed shots before freshman DaVonte' Lacy hit a three from the corner with only 17 seconds left in the game to give the Cougs one final lead, 77-74. Cal managed one last push, but only got a free throw with two seconds left. After an intentionally missed second free throw, Cal's Jorge Gutierrez threw up one final three that missed off the rim and the Cougs knocked off the conference-leading California Golden Bears 77-75.
Player of the Game:
Faisal Aden. Faisal Aden earns back-to-back Player of the Game awards for his impressive performance this week. Coming off the bench just three minutes into this game, Aden made his presence known scoring the Cougs ensuing eight points. After dropping a career high 33 points on Stanford Thursday, Aden made a strong showing against the Bears this afternoon. Aden scored 24 points on the night to lead the game going 9-of-12 from the field and 6-for-7 from the stripe. Also in double digits for the Cougs were Brock Motum (15), DaVonte' Lacy (14), and Abe Lodwick (12).
Play of the Game:
Lacy's 3 with 17 seconds left. DaVonte' Lacy made a statement for "Play of the Year" with his clutch 3-pointer from the corner to give the Cougs one last lead. Lacy caught a pass from Reggie Moore in the corner in front of the Cougar bench and rose up for a shot that sunk to the bottom of the net. In addition to nailing the shot, Lacy was also fouled and sent to the line. The potential four-point play electrified the Beasley crowd, and sent a deafening roar through Beasley Coliseum. Lacy did miss the free throw, leaving the potential for Cal to tie it, but they were unable to convert and the Cougs pulled out a victory.
Turning Point:
Capers jam for the tie. This game see-sawed back and forth many times. There were seven lead changes and seven ties in the game. It was either team's game with one 2:15 left, but Marcus Capers made it clear the Cougs weren't going down without a fight. Capers got the ball from Reggie Moore and drove hard to the rim. He rose up and threw down a massive dunk to tie the game at 72-72. Capers's dunk got the crowd on their feet and produced a deafening roar that didn't cease until the Cougs walked off the court with a two-point victory over conference-leading California.
Stat of the Game:
Bench points. The WSU bench poured in 42 points on the night, while Cal's only managed four. The main contributors to the Cougs bench productivity were Faisal Aden and Abe Lodwick who scored a combined 36 of WSU's bench points. Also adding to the total were D.J. Shelton and Dexter Kernich-Drew with three apiece.
The Cougars have knocked off two-straight conference leaders and are now 3-4 in Pac-12 play and 11-8 overall. WSU returns to the hardwood next Thursday, Jan. 26 at 7:30 p.m. PST in a televised event against the Arizona Wildcats (13-7, 4-3) at Tuscan, Ariz. Following the game Thursday, the Cougs will travel to Tempe, Ariz. to face the Arizona State Sundevils (6-13, 2-5) at 2 p.m. PST.
Waving the flag for Wazzu,
Jim Crawford
Ken Bone Press Conference
Student-Athlete Press Conference
Player of the Game:
Faisal Aden. Faisal Aden earns back-to-back Player of the Game awards for his impressive performance this week. Coming off the bench just three minutes into this game, Aden made his presence known scoring the Cougs ensuing eight points. After dropping a career high 33 points on Stanford Thursday, Aden made a strong showing against the Bears this afternoon. Aden scored 24 points on the night to lead the game going 9-of-12 from the field and 6-for-7 from the stripe. Also in double digits for the Cougs were Brock Motum (15), DaVonte' Lacy (14), and Abe Lodwick (12).
Play of the Game:
Lacy's 3 with 17 seconds left. DaVonte' Lacy made a statement for "Play of the Year" with his clutch 3-pointer from the corner to give the Cougs one last lead. Lacy caught a pass from Reggie Moore in the corner in front of the Cougar bench and rose up for a shot that sunk to the bottom of the net. In addition to nailing the shot, Lacy was also fouled and sent to the line. The potential four-point play electrified the Beasley crowd, and sent a deafening roar through Beasley Coliseum. Lacy did miss the free throw, leaving the potential for Cal to tie it, but they were unable to convert and the Cougs pulled out a victory.
Turning Point:
Capers jam for the tie. This game see-sawed back and forth many times. There were seven lead changes and seven ties in the game. It was either team's game with one 2:15 left, but Marcus Capers made it clear the Cougs weren't going down without a fight. Capers got the ball from Reggie Moore and drove hard to the rim. He rose up and threw down a massive dunk to tie the game at 72-72. Capers's dunk got the crowd on their feet and produced a deafening roar that didn't cease until the Cougs walked off the court with a two-point victory over conference-leading California.
Stat of the Game:
Bench points. The WSU bench poured in 42 points on the night, while Cal's only managed four. The main contributors to the Cougs bench productivity were Faisal Aden and Abe Lodwick who scored a combined 36 of WSU's bench points. Also adding to the total were D.J. Shelton and Dexter Kernich-Drew with three apiece.
The Cougars have knocked off two-straight conference leaders and are now 3-4 in Pac-12 play and 11-8 overall. WSU returns to the hardwood next Thursday, Jan. 26 at 7:30 p.m. PST in a televised event against the Arizona Wildcats (13-7, 4-3) at Tuscan, Ariz. Following the game Thursday, the Cougs will travel to Tempe, Ariz. to face the Arizona State Sundevils (6-13, 2-5) at 2 p.m. PST.
Waving the flag for Wazzu,
Jim Crawford
Ken Bone Press Conference
Student-Athlete Press Conference
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