COUGS SURGE IN SECOND HALF, BUT FALL TO WILDCATS IN HOME OPENER
PULLMAN, Wash. – In Monday night’s season opener, Washington state fell to the Davidson Wildcats 76-61 in Beasley Coliseum. The Cougars moved to 102-24 all-time in season openers and 63-10 when opening the season at home. In head coach David Riley’s third season with the program, he brings in 14 newcomers, including four freshman and 10 transfers. The Cougs returned freshman Dominik Robinson and sophomore Dio Blakely.
Washington State saw 11 players make their debut with the Cougs, with six players playing 20 or more minutes. Junior Jamari Phillips led the way with 26 minutes played, recording a career-high 11 points and knocking down two from behind the arc. Redshirt-freshman Jaylen Harrell played 25 minutes off the bench, recording a team and career-high 13 points, including nine in the second half. It is Harrell’s first time with a double-figure game in his career. The duo combined to record five of the seven steals for the Cougs. Dominik Robinson recorded 10 points off the bench in his first game action as a Coug, going 5-for-9 from the field with four rebounds.
The Cougs would trail the entire game, never being able to cut into the Davidson lead. The Wildcats shot 55.6% (12-23) from three with seven in the first half, while the Cougars shot 20.8% (5-24) from beyond the arc. WSU would narrowly lose the rebounding margin by two (38 to 36), but would win the turn over battle by three (11 to 14), including 19 points off turnovers.
WSU Starters
G | Lazerek Houston
G | Casey Jones
F | Jamari Phillips
F | Tyler Kropp
F | Ladji Dembele
Game Summary:
In the first half, Davidson would take the quick 7-1 lead, but before the first media timeout a dunk by junior Jamari Phillips and a stepback jumper by sophomore Lazerek Houston would settle the Cougs. After the second media timeout, freshman Dominik Robinson (one of two Coug returners) would record the first two buckets of his career. Davidson would rely on the three in the first half, making six of their first 10 field goals from behind the arc and take a 28-17 lead with five minutes left in the first.
WSU would get multiple good looks in the half but would start 0-for-8 from three. Jamari Phillips would finally break the drought from three with 3:15 to go in the half. Despite outrebounding the Wildcats 23-18 in the first, Davidson would knock down seven threes to the Cougs one to take the 34-22 lead at the break. Seven different players with WSU would record at least 10 minutes, all making their Cougar debut.
Davidson would pick up where they left off of in the first half, making three of their first four beyond the arc and take the 47-28 lead within the first four minutes of the half. The Cougars however would respond, forcing four straight turnovers to equal a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to single-digits.
After a roaring surge from the Cougs, the Wildcats would respond once more and have a stretch of going 7-of-7 from the field, including a 7-0 run to take 17-point lead with seven minutes to go. In the following posessions, Phillips would knock down a three to record a career-high, but Davidson would hold on to the double-digit lead. With under five minutes to go the Cougs would get a couple of stops, but would be unable to hit the big shot and cut the lead to single-digits. The Wildcats would close the game with a fastbreak layup and a three to push their lead back to 17 points and solidify the win.
Up Next:
The Cougars will hit the road for the first time this season, traveling to High Point, North Carolina to face High Point University, Saturday, November 7. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET and 2 p.m. PT with coverage on ESPN+.