The WSU men's basketball team welcomed the UCLA Bruins to Beasley Coliseum this afternoon in a televised event on ROOT Sports. This was the most physical game played at Beasley Coliseum this season with plenty of pushing and shoving and a combined 36 fouls on both teams. The first half was close the entire way as the two teams traded buckets back and forth. Then, with 3:21 left in the half, UCLA's Anthony Stover committed a flagrant foul on Brock Motum, pushing him over backwards after Motum rebounded and put up a shot that tied the game at 25 all. Returning from the stoppage in play, WSU went on a 7-0 run, forcing UCLA to take a timeout to slow the Cougs momentum. During the run, WSU made back-to-back threes. The run gave the Cougs a 32-27 lead that carried them to halftime as they led 34-29 at the buzzer. Following a 20-minute intermission, the two teams returned and traded buckets as the Bruins brought themselves to within two at 40-38 with 16:39 left to play. However, the Cougs fought back with a free throw and layup by Motum and a three from senior Abe Lodwick to extend their lead to six. The Bruins then countered with a run of their own to take a 50-49 lead with 9:25 left to go in the game. The two teams swapped baskets as the Cougs attempted to keep the Bruins in range. With three minutes to play, Lodwick drained a three to cut UCLA's lead to four and the Beasley crowd got rowdy, trying to spur a WSU run. Despite the fans' efforts, the shot proved to be the last field goal for over three minutes. With only 30 seconds left, and WSU still trailing 58-54, the Cougs were forced to foul to stop the clock. The Cougars only hope was that UCLA wouldn't convert clutch free throws and WSU could score off the missed shots. The Bruins gave WSU plenty of opportunities, going 5-of-9 in the final seconds, but an offensive rebound by UCLA, and a turnover by the Cougs prevented WSU from getting enough attempts to score. When the Cougs did manage to get the ball to their side of the court, junior Reggie Moore was able to knock down back-to-back threes that kept WSU's chances of winning alive. A last-second, full-court heave by Motum was on target, but fell a few feet short of the rim and the Cougs fell to the Bruins for the 19th-straight time in Pullman, 63-60. Mark it down in your record books: This is the first time this season WSU has lost at Beasley (8-1 on the season) and the first loss in 11 games on Friel Court. The last loss at Beasley was also to the Bruins last season when the Cougs lost, 58-54, in overtime.

Player of the Game:
Brock Motum. For the second-straight game, Brock Motum earns the Player of the Game award. Motum posted the third double-double of his career with 25 points and 11 rebounds. In addition, Motum went 9-of-18 from the field and 5-of-6 from the stripe. Motum's 11 rebounds was a team-high and helped the Cougs outrebound the Bruins 37-30.

Play of the Game:
Lodwick's one-handed, put-back dunk. Senior Abe Lodwick takes today's Play of the Game with his put-back jam early in the game at the 13:22 mark in the first half. Redshirt freshman Dexter Kernich-Drew caught a pass in the deep corner and rose up for a 3-pointer. The shot missed off the rim, but Lodwick was there to clean up jumping and hanging in the air long enough to grab the ball with one hand, and throw it back down into the rim in front of a ZZU CRU that exploded after the play.

Turning Point:
The final buzzer. As previously stated, this game was close the entire way. There were 15 lead changes and four ties and neither team took more than a seven-point lead at any point during the game. Both coaches did a good job calling timeouts to prevent any extended runs by the other team. Even with only one second left the game was still close. UCLA held a three-point lead and Motum's last-second toss looked as if it could fall. Nevertheless, it didn't and the game was decided when the buzzer sounded.

Stat of the Game:
Points off turnovers. The Cougars were severely outscored when it came to turnovers. While WSU didn't have significantly more turnovers than UCLA (15 for WSU and 10 for UCLA), the Bruins capitalized more frequently on WSU mistakes. The Bruins managed 18 points off WSU's turnovers, while the Cougs were only able to score three points off UCLA's mishaps.

The Cougars are now 4-7 in Pac-12 play and 12-11 overall. WSU returns to action next weekend as they hit the road to face the Oregon schools. The Cougs face Oregon State (15-8, 5-6) Thursday at 7 p.m. and then travel to Eugene to face Oregon (16-6, 7-3) at 2 p.m. in a televised event the following Saturday at 3 p.m. That game can be seen on the Comcast Sports Network NW channel.

Waving the flag for Wazzu,

Jim Crawford


Ken Bone Postgame Press Conference


Student-Athlete Postgame Press Conference


Brock Motum Postgame Press Conference


WSU vs. UCLA Game Highlights