The Cougars welcomed the Arizona State Sun Devils to a 'grayed-out' Beasley Coliseum this evening in a televised event on Root Sports NW. This is the second game in a three-game homestand for WSU. The Cougars opened the game on a 4-0 run spurred by a Brock Motum layin. The quick buckets forced an ASU timeout to prevent any further momentum. But the timeout proved fruitless, as freshman DaVonte' Lacy had a massive jam coming out of the timeout, to give the Cougs a six-point lead. The streak continued as senior Abe Lodwick sank a 3-pointer to give WSU a 10-0 lead with 16:55 left in the half. The Sun Devils finally managed to get on the board with a jumper on the ensuing possession. Lodwick hit a second three to give WSU a 13-2 lead before the game went scoreless for over three minutes until Arizona State nailed a 3-pointer with 11:26 to play in the half. However, the Cougs would respond with a 7-0 run, forcing a second Sun Devil timeout. WSU continued to extend its lead to 27-8 with only 6:03 left in the first half. Then, with 5:30 left to play in the half, Arizona State's Chris Colvin received a technical foul, allowing Reggie Moore to knock down a pair of free throws, extending WSU's lead to 29-8. This evoked a "single digits" chant from the ZZU CRU, taunting ASU for their lack of points with only five minutes to play in the half. When the first-half buzzer sounded the Cougars lead by 28 and the Sun Devils hadn't even reached double digits with a 36-8 score. Arizona State returned with a vengeance in the second half, opening on a 10-2 run, before DaVonte' Lacy snapped the Cougs' sluggish play with a 3-pointer. The Sun Devils continued to claw back into the game, coming as close as 12 points with 13:06 left to play. However, the momentum would swing back towards the Cougs as sophomore Patrick Simon came in off the bench to drain a three from the corner. Redshirt-sophomore D.J. Shelton continued the push with back-to-back dunks that brought the Beasley crowd to a roar and gave WSU a 50-33 lead with 11:26 left. ASU continued to slowly close the gap on WSU, but the Cougars used their nearly 30-point lead from the first half to maintain a comfortable lead and cruise to a 22-point victory, 72-50.
Player of the Game:
DaVonte' Lacy. After a sub-par performance Thursday night against Arizona, freshman DaVonte' Lacy outperformed the rest of the Cougar team tonight, dropping a team-high 17 points and dishing out four assists while pulling in three defensive rebounds. Lacy shot an impressive 6-of-11 from the field including four from beyond the arc. He even outscored WSU's leading scorer, Brock Motum, who added 16 points, but only managed one rebound. At halftime the Tacoma native was single-handedly leading the Sun Devils by six, 14-8.
Play of the Game:
Lacy's posterizing, and-one jam. DaVonte' Lacy also earns today's Play of the Game. The Cougars were off to a good start in the game, but Arizona State had just called timeout to prevent WSU from gaining any serious momentum. However, Lacy made sure the momentum continued with a posterizing jam over ASU's Jonathan Gilling. Lacy cut to the basket along the baseline and received a pass from senior Marcus Capers. Gilling stepped in to prevent an easy lay up, but Lacy went up and over Gilling, drawing the foul on the play as he slammed the ball home. The dunk set the tone for the rest of the half and the game, as the Cougs led the entire way and coasted to a 72-50 victory.
Turning Point:
Simon's three with 13 minutes left. The start of the second half began shaky for the Cougars as ASU set out to close the gap on the Cougs. The Sun Devils stifling defense was creating problems for WSU's starting lineup and had forced three-straight turnovers. Coach Bone decided to shuffle the lineup around, putting in redshirt-freshman Dexter Kernich-Drew and sophomore Patrick Simon. The pair came off the bench and played oppressive defense. Then, with 12:59 left to play in the game, Simon sunk a 3-pointer from the corner, bringing life back to the crowd and spurring an 11-2 run that lasted three and a half minutes and gave the Cougs a 21-point lead with 9:29 left to play.
Stat of the Game:
Point distribution. While the Cougars only had two players break into double digits, the distribution of points by WSU helped them win this game. DaVonte' Lacy led the Cougs with 17 points, followed closely by Brock Motum with 16. Marcus Capers added nine, while Abe Lodwick and D.J. Shelton each scored eight points. Compare this to ASU who only had one player score in double digits and no other player score more than six points. The distribution allowed the Cougars to turn to any player on the floor to score points when another was being closely guarded. Needless to say, if WSU continues to have so many hot hands, they will be tough to stop.
The Cougars are now 6-9 in Pac-12 play and 14-13 overall. WSU will hold their final regular season home game of the season next Saturday at 5 p.m. against the Washington Huskies at Beasley Coliseum. The game will be televised regionally on ROOT Sports NW and fans are encouraged to come as early as Friday night to camp out for the game and secure a good seat. Following the game next Saturday, the Cougars will travel to Los Angeles to face UCLA and USC for their final regular season games.
Waving the flag for Wazzu,
Jim Crawford
Ken Bone Post Game Press Conference
Student-Athlete Post Game Press Conference
Player of the Game:
DaVonte' Lacy. After a sub-par performance Thursday night against Arizona, freshman DaVonte' Lacy outperformed the rest of the Cougar team tonight, dropping a team-high 17 points and dishing out four assists while pulling in three defensive rebounds. Lacy shot an impressive 6-of-11 from the field including four from beyond the arc. He even outscored WSU's leading scorer, Brock Motum, who added 16 points, but only managed one rebound. At halftime the Tacoma native was single-handedly leading the Sun Devils by six, 14-8.
Play of the Game:
Lacy's posterizing, and-one jam. DaVonte' Lacy also earns today's Play of the Game. The Cougars were off to a good start in the game, but Arizona State had just called timeout to prevent WSU from gaining any serious momentum. However, Lacy made sure the momentum continued with a posterizing jam over ASU's Jonathan Gilling. Lacy cut to the basket along the baseline and received a pass from senior Marcus Capers. Gilling stepped in to prevent an easy lay up, but Lacy went up and over Gilling, drawing the foul on the play as he slammed the ball home. The dunk set the tone for the rest of the half and the game, as the Cougs led the entire way and coasted to a 72-50 victory.
Turning Point:
Simon's three with 13 minutes left. The start of the second half began shaky for the Cougars as ASU set out to close the gap on the Cougs. The Sun Devils stifling defense was creating problems for WSU's starting lineup and had forced three-straight turnovers. Coach Bone decided to shuffle the lineup around, putting in redshirt-freshman Dexter Kernich-Drew and sophomore Patrick Simon. The pair came off the bench and played oppressive defense. Then, with 12:59 left to play in the game, Simon sunk a 3-pointer from the corner, bringing life back to the crowd and spurring an 11-2 run that lasted three and a half minutes and gave the Cougs a 21-point lead with 9:29 left to play.
Stat of the Game:
Point distribution. While the Cougars only had two players break into double digits, the distribution of points by WSU helped them win this game. DaVonte' Lacy led the Cougs with 17 points, followed closely by Brock Motum with 16. Marcus Capers added nine, while Abe Lodwick and D.J. Shelton each scored eight points. Compare this to ASU who only had one player score in double digits and no other player score more than six points. The distribution allowed the Cougars to turn to any player on the floor to score points when another was being closely guarded. Needless to say, if WSU continues to have so many hot hands, they will be tough to stop.
The Cougars are now 6-9 in Pac-12 play and 14-13 overall. WSU will hold their final regular season home game of the season next Saturday at 5 p.m. against the Washington Huskies at Beasley Coliseum. The game will be televised regionally on ROOT Sports NW and fans are encouraged to come as early as Friday night to camp out for the game and secure a good seat. Following the game next Saturday, the Cougars will travel to Los Angeles to face UCLA and USC for their final regular season games.
Waving the flag for Wazzu,
Jim Crawford
Ken Bone Post Game Press Conference
Student-Athlete Post Game Press Conference
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