Ethan Price scores
Ashley Davis
89
Winner Washington St. WSU 11-3,1-0 WCC
73
Portland UP 5-9,0-1 WCC
Winner
Washington St. WSU
11-3,1-0 WCC
89
Final
73
Portland UP
5-9,0-1 WCC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Washington St. WSU 51 38 89
Portland UP 30 43 73

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | WSU Athletic Communications

Cougars Cruise to Inaugural WCC Win at Portland

PORTLAND – The Washington State men's basketball defeated the Portland Pilots, 89-73, Saturday evening at Chiles Center in WSU's inaugural West Coast Conference game.
 
Big Picture: The Cougars improved to 11-3 and 1-0 in WCC play as Wazzu played its first conference game outside an iteration of the Pac-12 Conference in 108 years.
 
Player Performances: Five Cougars scored in double figures, led by Ethan Price scored a season-high 22 points to lead the Cougars, adding seven rebounds and five assists. LeJuan Watts had a game-high eight rebounds with 14 points. Nate Calmese added 18 points, five assists, and seven rebounds. Dane Erikstrup scored 11 points and ND Okafor matched a season-high with 12 points.
 
Box Score Tidbits: Wazzu matched a season-high with 24 assists and shot a season-high 56% from 3-point range (14-of-25) The Cougars are 11-0 with 15+ assists and 7-0 when scoring at least 80 points.
 
Wire-to-Wire: WSU senior Ethan Price won the opening tip and scored the opening bucket on the first trip down the court, as the Cougars led for the entire game.
 
Up Next: Wazzu travels to Spokane, Washington to host LMU Monday, Dec. 30, at Spokane Arena in the first home game of the WCC schedule. The Cougs and Lions are scheduled to tip off at 6:30 p.m. with tickets available through TicketsWest and streaming available on ESPN+.

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WASHINGTON STATE POSTGAME NOTES
  • Washington State played its first game as an affiliate member of the West Coast Conference
  • The Cougars played their first conference game outside an iteration of the Pac-12 since the 1958-59 season when WSU played its final game of the Pacific Coast Conference, a win over Oregon, March 7, 1959 (65 years or 24,038 days)
    • If you count the PCC as an iteration of the Pac-12, WSU hasn't played in a conference game outside the Pac-X since 1915-16 when the Cougs played Idaho in their final game of the Northwest Athletic Conference, March 11, 1916 (108 years or 39,739 days)
  • Head Coach David Riley faced Portland Head Coach Shantay Legans, Riley's predecessor at Eastern Washington where Coach Riley served as an assistant for Legans prior to being named the head coach
  • WSU scored 51 points in the first half, matching its season high for the opening stanza
  • With the result, the Cougars:
    • Improve to 11-3 this season
    • Improve to 1-0 in WCC play and 1-0 in WCC road games
    • Improve to 2-1 in true road games
    • Improve to 4-0 in anthracite uniforms
    • Improve to 13-2 all-time against Portland and 3-2 at Chiles Center
    • Improve to 11-2 when leading at halftime
    • Improve to 5-1 when making 10+ threes
    • Improve to 8-0 when scoring at least 80 points
    • Matched a season-high 24 assists and improve to 11-0 when tallying 15+ assists
    • Finished over 50% field goal shooting for the ninth time, improving to 0-0
    • The Cougars outrebounded the Pilots by 12 and improved to 7-2 with more rebounds
  • Five Cougs in double figures for the first time since beating Missouri State, Dec. 14, 2024
    • Four Cougs in double figures for the ninth time this season
  • WSU shot a season-high 56.0% from 3-point range (14-of25)
  • WSU led by 28 points midway through the second half, the largest Cougar lead of the season
  • Ethan Price scored a WSU career-high 22 points, his first 20-point game since Feb. 10, 2024 at EWU
    • Price was the Cougs' leading scorer for the first time in his career
    • Price matched a career high with four made 3-pointers
    • Price made a WSU season-high eight made field goals
    • Price dished out five assists and matched a season-high with one steal
  • LeJuan Watts led WSU with eight rebounds, his 10th time leading in rebounds, and scored 14 points
    • LeJuan finished 3-of-3 from deep, setting a career high in made triples
  • Nate Calmese finished with 18 points, his 12th game in double figures
    • Calmese dished five assists and has delivered 5+ assists in seven of the last eight games
    • Calmese has led the Cougs in assists nine times
  • Tomas Thrastarson set a season-high with five assists
    • Thrastarson matched a career-high with seven points
    • Thrastarson made a season-high two free throws
  • Parker Gerrits matched a season-high with three rebounds
  • ND Okafor matched a season-high with 12 points
    • Okafor matched a season-high with two assists
    • Okafor made two blocks, leading the Cougs in rejections for the seventh time
  • WSU started the same lineup from a week ago with Price, L. Watts, Thrastarson, Calmese, and Erikstrup
  • Sophomore Isaiah Watts was out with a hand injury
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