LAS VEGAS – The Washington State men's basketball team defeated Loyola Marymount, 94-77, Saturday night in the third round of the Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Basketball Championship.
Big Picture: Washington State improved to 19-13 and improved to 1-0 in the WCC Championship.
Inside the Stat Sheet: WSU matched its season high with 26 assists, shooting 52% from the floor, to improve to 14-1 when scoring over 80 points and 18-1 when shooting a better field goal percentage.
Player Performances: Nate Calmese and
Ethan Price each scored 22 points to lead all scorers. Calmese also delivered a team-high seven assists, one shy of his career high. Sophomore
Rihards Vavers delivered a WSU career-high 16 points with four 3-pointers and a perfect 4-of-4 at the free throw line.
LeJuan Watts tallied his ninth double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Isaiah Watts registered his 13th double-digit game with 11 points and four assists.
Up Next: The Cougars advance to face San Francisco in the tournament quarterfinals, Sunday, March 9, at 8 p.m. on ESPN2.
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WASHINGTON STATE POSTGAME NOTES
- With the result, the Cougars:
- Improve to 19-13 this season and 5-2 in neutral-site games
- Improve to 10-24 all-time in conference tournaments and 1-0 in the WCC Championship
- Improve to 4-2 all-time against LMU and 3-2 against the Lion in neutral-site meetings
- Improve to 13-4 when wearing white uniforms
- Improve to 16-4 when leading at halftime
- Improve to 16-5 with 15+ assists and 6-1 with 20+ assists
- Improve to 14-1 when scoring 80+ points and 10-1 when scoring 90+ points
- Improve to 13-5 when holding their opponent under 80 points
- Improve to 18-1 when shooting a better field goal percentage
- Improve to 11-4 when committing fewer than 15 turnovers
- Ethan Price scored 22 points for his 22nd double-digit game as a Coug and 80th in his career
- Price scored 20 first-half points, his seventh first-half in double figures
- Price eclipsed 20 points for the fifth time this season and 10th time of his career
- Nate Calmese scored 22 points and delivered his 25th double-digit game and 54th of his career
- Calmese added a team-high seven assists, his 15th game with 5+ assists, and 15th game leading the Cougs in assists
- Calmese also had two steals, his 17th game with multiple takeaways
- LeJuan Watts added 12 points and a team-high 13 rebounds – his ninth double-double this season
- Isaiah Watts finished with 11 points, his 13th double-digit game and 16th of his career
- Watts has led WSU in steals nine times this season and tallied multiple steals in a single game 10 times
- Rihards Vavers scored a season-high 16 points and delivered his third game with 10+ points
- Vavers grabbed a season-high five rebounds
- Vavers made a season-high 4-of-4 free throw attempts
- ND Okafor finished with two blocks, his 12th game with multiple rejected shots
- Parker Gerrits matched his season high with two free throw attempts
- For the 17th time this season at least four Cougs scored in double figures
- WSU used the same starting lineup for the 10th-straight game and 16th time this season
