Washington State Basketball

As the line reads on the Washington State website, "Reggie Moore...did not play after aggravating a wrist injury and is out indefinitely..."

The line comes from a game recap after the Washington State Cougars beat Southern University 86-47 on Saturday night in Pullman. As a spectator in the stands, I was curious as to why Moore wasn't starting, and then when I saw him on the bench in attire signaling that he was not active for the game, I became concerned.

The Cougars had no problem putting away the Southern Jaguars, who were playing their second game in two nights after losing the previous night to Gonzaga University.

But the play was sloppy, and I attribute that to Moore's absence.

In my WSU preview, I wrote that freshman Dre' Winston Jr. handled a lot of the ball-handling duties when Moore was on the bench during their exhibition game against Lewis-Clark State earlier this month. But when the starting lineups were announced and Moore wasn't introduced, neither was Winston.

The ball-handling duties were a collective team effort, which can work against inferior teams such as Southern, but when going against Pac-10 quality opponents, you need a player to run the offense and show leadership.

Klay Thompson led the team with six assists but also committed five turnovers in 33 minutes of play against Southern.

The next four opponents for the Cougars are home against Idaho on Tuesday, then Portland, at Fresno State, then back home against Sacramento State

And then-No. 3 Kansas State comes into Pullman on December 3. The Cougars need Moore if they want to have a chance to win that game.

Kansas State is led by senior guard Jacob Pullen and if Moore is healthy for that game, that will be a match up worth watching. Pullen averaged over 19 points a game, almost three-and-a-half assists a game and led the team with 67 steals while starting every game for the Wildcats last season.

When the two schools squared off last season in Manhattan, Kansas State won 86-69 and the Cougars committed 25 turnovers which translated into 39 Wildcats points.

Reggie Moore filled his stat line with 16 points and six assists compared to Pullen's 21 points and four assists.

A more in-depth preview of this game will come later as the game nears and both teams get more games under their belts. And hopefully with Moore expected to be on the court.

While everybody seems to be giving the PAC-10 title to the Washington Huskies, and deservedly so, the other team in the state seems to be the forgotten one.

And I'm not talking about Gonzaga.

The Washington State Cougars have been picked to finish fifth in the PAC-10 conference after finishing last year with a record of 16-15, 6-12 in the conference. Their season concluded with a first round overtime knockout by the Oregon Ducks in the PAC-10 tournament, leaving many Cougar fans disappointed.

But a new season is upon us, with four starters returning and only one senior having left in Nikola Koprivica.

Highlighting the returning cast is junior Klay Thompson, who has been selected as one of of 50 preseason candidates for the John Wooden award after averaging 19.6 points a game last season, good for second in the conference behind now departed Landry Fields. Thompson was also selected by SI.com as the top player this season in the PAC-10, saying he "is one player who looks like he has an NBA future," in a conference that is thin with next-level talent.

Back for his sophomore season is Reggie Moore. After a hot start, his youth began to set in and his numbers dwindled along with the Cougar team as a whole as they lost their last four games and 10 of their final 12.

Moore led all PAC-10 freshman in assists per game (4.2), assist to turnover ratio (1.5), and free throw percentage (.794). This all coming while being the only freshman starting point guard in the conference.

This season will feature the same style of run and gun that second year head coach Ken Bone has brought to Pullman. The adjustment from the defensive lock down and sometimes boring style that Dick and later on his son, Tony Bennett, installed had its highs and lows last year, but more depth on the perimeter and inside will help the Cougars overcome their apparent fatigue problems last year.

New to the team after redshirting last year is transfer Faisal Aden. In an exhibition game last Friday, November 5, against Lewis-Clark State, Aden put up a team high 22 points going nine of 13 shooting, including four of six from beyond the three point line.

Thompson scored 21 points, going four of five from three point land making the two combine for 43 in the Cougars 89-49 victory.

DeAngelo Casto was, for the most part, the only inside presence the Cougars had last season both offensively and defensively. He averaged just under 11 points a game while grabbing seven rebounds and averaging over two blocks per contest, number one in the conference.

Casto stands only 6'8" and the Cougar roster has four players at 6'10" or taller, so they'll need one or two of them to step up and produce when Casto needs a rest or finds himself in foul trouble.

The most likely candidate to be first off the bench in replacement of Casto is 6'10", 230 pound true-sophomore Brock Motum from Australia. Motum played sparingly in just 19 games last season, averaging less than three points and under one rebound per game. He shot 56 percent from the field last season and if his four of 10 production from beyond three point territory is taken out of the equation, he shot 19-31, 61 percent, which is something that can built upon. During the exhibition game, Motum dropped in 11 points, but only grabbed one rebound and recorded no blocks in 16 minutes of play.

Another player to watch will be freshman back-up point guard, Dre' Winston Jr. out of Lakes High School in Lakewood, Wash. In 16 minutes against Lewis-Clark State, Winston Jr. was held scoreless with two turnovers and zero assists. Not exactly eye-popping for someone who was seen handling the ball a lot when Moore was not on the court.

The Cougars outside the conference currently have two top-25 opponents on their schedule in Gonzaga and Kansas State University. Both of whom the Cougars played last year on the road and lost. This year, both games will be held in Pullman within five days of each other starting with Kansas State on Friday, December 3 and then Gonzaga will come in on December 8.

The Cougars will also participate in the 2010 Diamond Head Classic in late December in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Cougars are part of an eight team field also featuring national champion runner-up Butler, Baylor, Mississippi State, San Diego State, Utah, Florida State, and host team Hawaii. The Cougars will face Mississippi State in the first round match up scheduled for December 22.

The regular season for the Cougars starts tonight as they host Southern University. The Jaguars lost their opening game of the season last night at Gonzaga 117-72.

Washington State has been given the final word regarding its home game against Oregon on New Year's Eve. The debatable call made at the end of overtime by Pac-10 officials has been viewed, reviewed, and considered.

In case you have forgotten the incident, it appeared the Cougs were about to win a hard-fought overtime victory over the Ducks. DeAngelo Casto put home the winning bucket with 00.3 left in the extra five-minute period.

Understandably, the WSU bench erupted in jubilation to express its competitive emotions. Officials felt the Cougar bench was in violation of rules by their display, calling a technical foul that sent Tajuan Porter to the line. Yes, Porter sank both shots to force another overtime period, where Oregon prevailed, 91-89.

After cautious deliberation, WSU Athletic Director Jim Sterk made a formal request for the conference to review the call for legitimacy.

Sterk went about asking for a review without fanfare or lacking a flashy, inflammatory series of diatribes in the media. Clearly the man's patience was being tested.

When all was said and done, the Pac-10 stood behind their officials. No surprise there.

With the case being closed, Sterk sent an e-mail today bringing Cougar Nation up to date. Here's the text from his note:

Dear Cougar Athletics Fan,

Over the past three weeks I have been inundated with comments from alumni, donors, members of the Pullman community, and Cougars fans across the country regarding the officials' decision to issue a technical foul on our bench with point-three seconds remaining in the first overtime of the Dec. 31, 2009 men's basketball game vs. the University of Oregon. That came after one of our student-athletes made a basket to give the Cougars a two-point lead in a highly-contested game.

Following the game I asked the Pac-10 for an official review of the game officials interpretation at the end of the first overtime. I received a response from Larry Scott, Commissioner of the Pacific-10 Conference, which stated: "I have now had a chance to review the matter along with our men's basketball officiating coordinator Bill McCabe, and head of men's basketball Dave Hirsch. We together reviewed the video replays and Bill has had several follow-up discussions with the officials who worked the game. In short, I have concluded that the playing rules were enforced correctly."

The conference stated the playing rules were enforced correctly at the end of the first overtime, determining that it remained a “live ball” situation and therefore we prevented continuous play. I then sent the Pac-10 a copy of the coaches' video from the contest, including views they were not provided from the original game telecast. The conference reviewed the second video and reaffirmed its initial review of the play.

At this point we have no other recourse but to abide by the conference’s interpretation and move forward. We appreciate the support of all Cougar fans and look forward to seeing the Cougar Nation pack Friel Court throughout the season.

All the best,

Jim Sterk

Time to move on.

Originally published in Lew Wright's WSU Sports column on Examiner.com

LOS ANGELES—Washington State (14-5, 4-3) was a little slow out of the gate Thursday night but finished strong down the stretch to take down the USC Trojans (11-7, 3-3) at the Galen Center.

Coach Ken Bone considered changing his starting lineup following the game last Saturday against Stanford, but instead of trying something new, coach Bone showed patience with his young roster of student athletes, and it paid off big time for the Cougars.

USC came out aggressively on defense and deliberately at the offensive end of the court, as they stuck to coach Kevin O'Neill's game plan.

The Trojans took WSU out of their game by crashing the boards and completely shutting down the Cougs' transition game.

With Dwight Lewis and Marcus Johnson providing offensive firepower and Alex Stepheson controlling the paint, the Trojans enjoyed a 10-point lead at halftime, 34-24.

How dominant was USC in the first half?

Klay Thompson led the Cougs with 11, and Reggie Moore added another 10. The rest of the Cougars managed just three points.

It was during the intermission where things turned in favor of Washington State.

“We talked about the fact they had 10 points in transition, and we had zero. They had seven points on second-chance points, and we had two. That’s a 15-point difference, and we’re down five. We talked about how we can clean those two things up," said WSU coach Ken Bone.

Okay, it wasn’t all Cougs in the second half. In fact, USC built their lead up to 15 points in the second half with 17:26 remaining on a vicious dunk by Marcus Johnson.

But that was it. Johnson's dunk appeared to be the last straw, and it was all Reggie Moore could tolerate. He stepped up his game to another gear and took over the basketball game.

Moore knocked down one of his three-pointers about five minutes into the second half and clearly motivated his teammates to play their game—Cougar basketball. Coach Bone’s team was on the march and slowly but surely got back into the game.

“I’m a lifetime basketball player. Once a team gets a big lead on you, that’s all you can do [is chip away]. There’s no shot you can hit that’s worth 15 points. You have to take it one point, two points, or three points at a time and get stops,” said WSU guard Reggie Moore.

Fittingly, Washington State took back the lead for good on a smooth, high-arching three-pointer from the corner baseline by senior Nikola Koprivica. How'd he get the ball? Moore drove the lane, drawing the defense to collapse on him, then dished the ball to Koprivica who was wide open.

By resisting the urge to push the panic button and stick with the game plan, the Cougs worked their way into a position to earn a Pac-10 road victory to begin their Southern California trip.

“There were a couple of times tonight where we could have fallen apart because…[USC] is a very good team,” said Coach Bone outside the locker room.

A couple of second-half stats jump out to define how Washington State won the game. The Cougs scored 13 points off turnovers to none for the Trojans, and coach Bone got some scoring out of his bench, creating a 13-2 margin over USC. That was more than enough.

In the end, USC coach Kevin O’Neill didn’t have the roster depth necessary to control the flow of the game for 40 minutes. WSU simply hung in there until the Trojans ran out of gas.

Coach Bone pointed out, “Our guys are relentless, and they keep battling every minute. I thought our guys played with a lot of poise. I appreciate the effort.”

Winning the first game in Los Angeles is big for WSU, but things won’t get any easier come Saturday afternoon when they face UCLA in storied Pauley Pavilion.

Originally published in Lew Wright's WSU Sports column on Examiner.com

LOS ANGELES—Coming on the heels of their road victory Thursday evening over USC, the Washington State (14-5, 4-3) men’s basketball team will lace ‘em up again Saturday afternoon. They will travel across Los Angeles to take on the UCLA Bruins (8-10, 3-3) at 1:00 PM PST on the hardwood inside Pauley Pavilion in Westwood.

Coach Ken Bone guided his team to a comeback win over the Trojans. With much of the attention for WSU focused on talented sophomore Klay Thompson, freshman point guard Reggie Moore played outstanding basketball.

No hyperbole.

After the game, USC coach Kevin O’Neill called Moore, “The kid that killed us...” He went on to say, “I haven’t seen a better point guard in the conference than Moore. He just took us apart.”

On paper, it might appear that the Cougs will have an easy time against UCLA. The Bruins were taken apart by USC last Sunday afternoon on their home court in Pauley Pavilion, and they are under .500 on the season.

With a buzzer beater by Mustafa Abdul-Hamid, which broke the hearts of Husky Nation, UCLA narrowly escaped 62-61 over UW. The victory evened the Bruins Pac-10 record at 3-3.

Coach Ben Howland has just two problems with his team this season. The first actually brings about the second. UCLA has been challenging Cal for the most injuries to its players. As Coach Howland has been forced to juggle his lineup, the Bruins have struggled with consistency.

Considering Washington was picked to win the conference by a poll of media members covering the Pac-10, the Bruin win Thursday night would have to be considered an upset—even in Westwood. Make no mistake, there is plenty of talent on the UCLA roster. The Bruins simply lack experience, a characteristic shared with the Cougs.

The Bruins are just 2-2 in Pac-10 play at home, including their win Thursday night. That stat speaks volumes about this edition of UCLA basketball. In recent years, the chances of an earthquake in LA were more likely than a UCLA loss at Pauley Pavilion.

Sophomore Malcolm Lee leads a balanced scoring attack for UCLA with 13.7 points per game. He's followed closely by Michael Roll at 13.1, Nikola Dragovic at 10.6, and Reeves Nelson with 10.5.

Last season Washington State beat some pretty long odds by handing UCLA a loss at home. The Cougs were 1-52 at Pauley Pavilion when they pulled off their second win in Westwood.

Can WSU win for the second time on this trip to Los Angeles?

Here are the keys for Washington State on Saturday:

-Coach Howland will try to keep the pace of the game slow and deliberate.  That style was effective for USC against WSU in the first half of their game.  The Trojans denied the Cougs points off the break for 20 minutes. WSU will need to work for rebounds to get transition opportunities.

-Limit good looks from three-point range for senior Michael Roll.  Roll is shooting 42.4 percent from long range.

-Protect the basketball on offense.  With each possession being valuable in a game against a coach Howland team, limiting turnovers is crucial.

Klay Thompson may not have had his best game statistically against the Trojans, but he played a great game at both ends of the court in front of family and friends. Look for Klay to do that again on Saturday because the Cougs can get scoring out of both Moore and senior Nikola Koprivica. Despite being the fifth-ranked scorer in the nation, too much focus on Thompson would be a mistake Coach Howland isn’t likely to make.

FSN will have their “A” team working the telecast Saturday at 1:00 PM PST. Veteran announcer Barry Tompkins and former Bruin Don MacLean will be calling the action. If you can’t get to a television set, Bud Nameck will be calling the game on the Cougars Basketball Radio Network.

Originally published in Lew Wright's WSU Sports column for Examiner.com

Los Angeles, CA –The Washington State (13-5, 3-3) men's basketball squad will travel south to Los Angeles this week for a pair of Pac-10 road games. First up for the Cougs will be the USC Trojans on (11-6, 3-2) Thursday night at 7:30pm PST at the Galen Center.

Trojans' first year coach Kevin O’Neill is no stranger to the Pac-10. He is a coach who puts defense first and the style of play he prefers has become the standard of the conference.

Though the Trojans have won nine of their last 11 games, USC put up more than 70 points in just one of them.The men of Troy are playing smothering defense this season and it's translating into wins.

A look at what USC has done in conference play is impressive. They have held Arizona, ASU, Stanford, UCLA, and high-powered Cal to just 50, 37, 54, 46, and 67 points respectively. Their two losses came at the hands of Stanford and Cal on the road and could have easily been logged in the win column with just a break or two.

Coach O’Neill is doing a brilliant job leading USC, especially taking into consideration that the school voluntarily imposed sanctions on themselves, including no postseason play.

As much as the sanctions may have hurt his ability to motivate the team, O’Neill has benefited from the play of senior transfer Mike Gerrity. The senior point guard wasn’t eligible at the beginning of the season, but Gerrity has been a steadying force in the backcourt and plays with confidence and is under control.

The only hint of pressure on the Trojans on Thursday night will be defending their home court. It's simply a matter of pride, something USC has an abundance of.

USC will start a lineup similar to WSU, as neither team plays a conventional center. Comparing their front lines, the Trojans may have an edge with size and experience. Coach O’Neill will start 6’10” sophomore Nikola Vucevic, 6’9” junior Alex Stephenson, and 6’6” senior Marcus Johnson at forwards, with Gerrity and senior Dwight Lewis at guard positions. Other than Stephenson, the starters will be on the court most of the game unless they get into foul trouble.

WSU coach Ken Bone suggested that there might be a change in his starting lineup, but even if that’s the case he probably won’t change the amount of time players spend on the court.

There are a couple of keys to Washington State earning a victory over USC.

First, it will be important for the Cougs to handle the ball well. The Trojans will pressure the ball constantly trying to create turnovers. Since USC will try to keep the pace of the game slow and deliberate, every possession will be valuable. Sound familiar? It should. WSU played that style under both coach Dick and Tony Bennett with success.

The other key for WSU will be the play of Klay Thompson and Reggie Moore. Both are very capable scorers as they drive to the basket to create opportunities for either themselves or a teammate. They can put pressure on the Trojans by either getting layups or picking up fouls on USC defenders. The most effective group for coach O’Neill is his starting five. If the Cougs can cause the Trojan starters to watch from the bench then they will be in a great position to pick up a conference win on the road.

The game Thursday night will not be televised. As usual, you can listen in at 7:00pm on the Cougar Basketball Radio Network with Bud Nameck calling the game. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30pm PST.

Originally published in Lew Wright's WSU Sports column on Examiner.com

Pullman, WA – There was plenty of exciting Pac-10 basketball played on Friel Court Thursday night in Pullman, WA. When the dust settled and the time clock displayed 00:00, Washington State (12-4, 2-3) found themselves on the short end of a 93-88 score. The visiting Cal Bears (11-5, 3-1) were weary but happy at the end of the game having survived their first conference road match of the season.

Coach Ken Bone looked on as his Cougars started the game stone cold, opposite of the torrid Bears. Just minutes into the beginning of the first half, Cal raced out to an overwhelming 26-8 lead by converting 10 of their first 13 shots.

Coach Bone used two of his timeouts at this early stage of the game, attempting to slow down the Bears. Instead of taking Cal out of their rhythm, WSU couldn’t find theirs. The Cougs were as frigid as the temperature outside Beasley Coliseum, converting just 3 of 12 field goal shots. They were being out-hustled by Cal on the boards 10-2.

“They set the tone for themselves in the first eight minutes,” lamented Coach Bone after the game. “That’s where the game was won or lost.”

Instead of Coach Mike Montgomery calmly leading his experienced team to an easy win, Cal found themselves in a tough ball game when the Cougs finally had enough and played good ball.

WSU clawed all the way back into the game, trailing by just four points at the break, 41-37.

As you’d expect, Cal couldn’t maintain their sharpshooting percentage for 40 minutes. Just as the Bears raced out to make quick transition baskets after a WSU shot clanked off the rim to begin the game, the Cougs played determined basketball to battle back and make a game of it.

The momentum of the first half turned when senior Nikola Koprivica came into the game at the 12:59 mark. Nik’s energy and physical play seemed to inspire WSU.

Moments after exchanging buckets to open the second half, Cal crept out to a ten-point lead at 52-42 on the scoring of seniors Jerome Randle and Patrick Christopher .

Though Coach Montgomery’s rotation was limited because of injuries, the troops available played their hearts out. You’d expect that from veterans Randle, Christopher and Theo Robertson . Each played significant minutes. Each played at a very high level.

How high?

Jerome Randle shattered his previous career scoring mark of 31 with a much needed 39-point effort. He was spectacular at both ends of the court, creating 2 steals, grabbing 5 boards and dishing out 9 assists. The young man simply played outstanding basketball.

“(Randle’s) a great player, probably a reason why he played 40 minutes. Coach Montgomery understands how valuable he is to have on the court. We’re trying to guard him with some kids that are in their first or second year in the Pac-10 and he’s… tough to defend.” - WSU Coach Ken Bone

Reggie Moore continued his development as the top freshman in the Pac-10. Moore seemed to be everywhere on the court and set a personal career scoring mark and led the Cougs with 25 points, 5 assists and a pair of steals. He played under control, turning the ball over just once.

It was somewhat of an off night for Klay Thompson who finished with 18 points on 6-16 shooting and coughed up an uncharacteristic 4 turnovers. Klay had a number of good looks at the basket, but couldn’t find the bottom of the net with consistency.

In the end, Washington State just couldn’t overcome the huge deficit handed them by the hard-charging Bears early on.

“The intensity turned in the second half, we let them catch up and WSU became the aggressor. WSU played well, (Xavier) Thames and (Reggie) Moore played well. We were on our heels on defense, something to work on.” - Cal Coach Mike Montgomery

“We started to play with a good level of toughness and a little bit of grit and just battled once we were down 20. That’s the disappointing thing. We got down 20 to start the game. That wasn’t all our bad play. They came out and played well. Cal also shot the ball extremely well. They had a great first eight minutes and it was hard to overcome that.” - Coach Ken Bone

Originally published in Lew Wright's WSU Sports column on Examiner.com

Pullman, WA —The Washington State Cougars (12-3, 2-2) men’s basketball team returns to their home court Thursday evening at 7 pm PST when they host the Cal Bears (10-5, 2-1) in Pullman, WA.

Coach Ken Bone’s team has split their first two weekly series to begin Pac-10 play. He pointed out during his weekly teleconference the Cougs could easily be 3-1.

WSU has come into conference play with confidence and proven they are a good basketball team getting better with every game.

A preseason favorite to win the Pac-10 championship, Coach Mike Montgomery has seen a number of his Cal players sustain injuries early on. “ We’ve had some kids down. We’re going to have [Jorge Gutierrez] down again this week. We’re not as deep as we’d like to be so we’re going to go with what we have,” Coach Montgomery said during the Pac-10 teleconference on Tuesday.

The key to success for Cal is their ability to score from outside. Not only do the Bears have three outstanding shooters in Theo Robertson, Jerome Randle and Patrick Christopher, they bring valuable experience to the table. All three are seniors who know how to win at this level.

“They’re very good. I think at least one of them is going to be in the NBA. It’s a situation where we have to have a lot of pride in our defense and understand that every possession in important,” acknowledged Coach Bone speaking about Robertson, Randle and Christopher.

When you look at Cal, it seems as though their strengths come in three’s. Not only can they shoot for a high percentage from three-point range, the Bears have three very good players who rotate up front to cause problems for opponents at both ends of the court.

“Their bigs are not only big, they’re tall,” said Coach Bone. He went on to describe the trio as, “…one kid, [Max Zhang] is about 7’ whatever. Then [Markhuri Sanders-Frison], the kid out of Portland, is just thicker than thick. [Jamal] Boykin is like DeAngelo Casto. He’s not as tall as everybody and not as thick…but he works relentlessly.”

Coach Bone described the big men up front as a three-headed monster. He’s impressed how effectively Coach Montgomery uses them to “get the job done.”

Washington State will counter with an impressive trio of their own in Klay Thompson, Reggie Moore and DeAngelo Casto. When it comes to scoring, teams have focused on limiting Thompson good looks at the basket, leaving Moore and other teammates open.

“[Reggie Moore] is a great penetrator. We knew what he’s capable of and had him on our radar. He’s strong and come in to do a great job for [WSU]. We’ve got to keep him out of the paint. When he gets in the paint he makes other players better. He’s come in and done a great job as a freshman,” said Coach Montgomery.

Cougar players are looking forward to playing in front of their fans packed into Beasley Coliseum. The game will not be televised, but you can listen in on the Cougar Basketball Radio Network with Bud Nameck calling the game.

“The [Cougars] are playing confidently. They’re not slowing the ball down. They have the ability to shoot it when they’re open…We have to have energy and shoot the ball.” - Cal Coach Mike Montgomery

 

 

Originally published in Lew Wright's WSU Sports column on Examiner.com

Washington State (12-4, 2-2) ran into a well-coached, aggressive Arizona State team early Sunday afternoon. The Sun Devils (12-5, 2-2) frustrated and dominated WSU by a final score of 71-46.

Coach Ken Bone had trouble getting his team moving before and during the second game on the Arizona road trip.

A handful of Cougar players were late for both the team bus and morning meeting. Coach Bone was left with no choice but to shuffle his starting lineup and rotation off the bench because of the player tardiness.

Before jumping to a conclusion the personnel changes by Coach Bone were the reason for the loss, pause and catch your breath.

As poorly as the Sun Devils played in Los Angeles last week, they were conversely outstanding back on the hardwood of Wells Fargo Arena on campus in Tempe, AZ.

What a difference a week made for Coach Herb Sendek's team.

First, the Sun Devils dismantled the UW then completely shut down Washington State. Both Northwest teams have been putting large points on the scoreboard this season. Yet against the smothering defense and slow down offense of ASU, both teams were shut down and handed a loss.

After being lulled by a 7-1 run by Washington State to open the game, Coach Sendek called timeout at the 16:35 mark, reminding his squad they were supposed to be playing a game Sunday afternoon. That's all it took. The Sun Devils responded to their coach and went on a 16-0 run to take control of things.

The Cougs had their chances. Oh, did they have their chances...The memory fails to register a game where WSU missed so many layups. Thankfully the few Sun Devil fans on hand didn't send up a Bronx cheer on the rare occasion the Cougs were able to make a bucket going to the rim.

How bad was it?

Washington State finished the game without one single player reaching double-digits in scoring and marked a season-low standard with just 46 points. Their previous low was 65 points against Oregon State in a game just last week.

"You’ve got to be able to convert shots, especially when they’re easy baskets because it’s not easy to score against (Arizona State). They play a very unique defense. When you do get that opportunity for just literally a layup, with no one contending it, you’ve got to be able to convert." - WSU Coach Ken Bone

So are opponents figuring out how to shut down Klay Thompson and the up-tempo offense of Coach Bone? Not really. The Pac-10 has been a defensive-oriented conference for the past few years. The only surprise in seeing WSU score just 46 points is the overall play of the team. At no time was there a combination of players on the floor for Washington State who looked, or even resembled, a team.

Arizona State was such a cohesive group, it's hard to point out one player making the difference for the Sun Devils in victory. Any time a player achieves a double-double in conference play, it deserves mention. Ty Abbott scored 17 points and grabbed 11 boards. He also, dished out four assists to his teammates.

One indicator of team play is the assist to shots made ratio. The Sun Devils converted 30 shots off 22 assists. If you look up "team play" in the dictionary, those stats would define the term.

After the game, Coach Bone suggested the need to discipline a few of his players who more or less threw his game plan out the window. That may have been one of the few tosses that worked Sunday afternoon.

When all is said and done, the Cougs accomplished a split of the two road games this week. There were many, many lessons learned by the young WSU players.

"For the most part, we will move on. It was a poor game. We didn’t do many good things…we’ll move on and start focusing on our next couple of games." - Coach Ken Bone

The next couple of games for Washington State will be with the Northern California schools, Cal and Stanford. It doesn't get any easier, but the Cougs should benefit from the support of their Zzu Crew fans filling the stands in Beasley Coliseum.

Game Notes

Charlie Enquist replaced DeAngelo Casto to begin the game. It was his first career start for Washington State.

Two freshmen, Steven Bjornstad and John Allen , saw their first Pac-10 action against ASU.

A season-high 11 players saw action for Coach Ken Bone and the Cougs against ASU. Every one of the 13 players who made the trip saw playing time.

Originally published in Lew Wright's WSU Sports Column on Examiner.com

Washington State (12-3, 2-1) experienced déjà vu in Tucson, AZ on Friday night, as DeAngelo Casto put the ball through the net with just :00.1 seconds left in regulation. He did the very same thing last week in Pullman against Oregon at the end of overtime, but the game officials slapped the Cougars with a technical foul for celebrating on the court, leading to a second OT and eventual loss to the Ducks.

The Cougs learned their lesson.

They saved their jubilant celebration of a 78-76 victory over Arizona (7-8, 1-2) on the Wildcats home floor inside the McKale Center until after the final horn sounded at the end of the game.

This game was just what you'd expect from two talented, young college basketball teams. There was an abundance of good defense, good passing, good shooting, and competitive play from beginning to end.

Arizona struggled with their shot early on, but eventually warmed up.

Washington State struggled with turning the ball over, but played under control when it counted the most.

The 'Cats balanced offense had four players score in double figures, but WSU nearly matched them with three double digit scorers of their own.

After the game, coach Ken Bone was quick to point out how the Cougs were able to do something few visiting teams have accomplished—win in the McKale Center. "It’s nice to know that your team has the ball, hopefully for the last time, with seconds remaining," said Bone. With the score tied and the game on the line, WSU worked the ball inside for the winning layup by Casto.

As they out to an early lead in the game, WSU was able to lull the home crowd to sleep. The Cougs only allowed Arizona one run over the 40 minutes of regulation, an 11-1 streak culminating in the 'Cats first lead in the game, 27-25, with 4:23 left in the first half. At that point in the game, coach Bone took a time out, vociferously took his players to task, and took the momentum away from coach Sean Miller's team.

The team in the crimson jerseys with white trim listened to their coach, then executed at both ends of the court the rest of the way.

Though the Cougs weren't playing their best ball in the first half, the game was tied 35-35 at intermission. Coach Bone is a stickler for protecting the ball, and he watched his team turn the ball over 10 times in the first 20 minutes while dishing out just six assists. But down the stretch, in the final seven minutes of regulation, WSU only turned the ball over once.

After the game coach Bone said, "…to win on the road, especially in an environment like this, it takes a lot of poise. Even during tough times we seemed pretty poised."

Coach Miller was able to draw up a defensive scheme which held Klay Thompson to just 19 points, but Miller couldn't shut down the overall play of Thompson, who led the Cougs in assists for the third game in a row. Klay nearly achieved another double-double, pulling down eight boards in the contest. He had a blocked shot as well. As Cougar Radio announcer Bud Nameck would put it, Thompson showed Arizona "a little Klay-mation."

The difference in the game was freshman point guard Reggie Moore, who notched a new career-high of 20 points, tops among all scorers. Moore looked like a player possessed in the second half, driving to the hoop time after time, forcing defenders to foul him in the process.

"He became pretty determined to attack. At halftime we talked about attacking them. They’re good, but they shouldn’t be able to pressure us 35-40 feet away from the hoop and still stop us from getting into the key. I thought Reggie did a nice job of taking that challenge on, getting to the key and sometimes to the rim," said coach Ken Bone

As young as this Washington State team is, they are growing together as a team with each practice and every game.

"Sometimes you see a guy mess up in the first half and the coach doesn’t believe in him anymore. Coach (Bone) believed in me and kept the ball in my hands. All my teammates were (saying), ‘Reggie, we know you can do better.’ They just believed in me so it allowed me to believe in myself," stated WSU point guard Reggie Moore

There is no question that coach Bone has his players developing into a very competitive basketball team.  A quick glance at WSU's record to start the season will make believers out of a lot of folks.

Originally published in Lew Wright's WSU Sports column on Examiner.com