PULLMAN, Wash. — Rihards Vavers drained five three-pointers on his way to a game-high 21 points, and a balanced Washington State offense powered the Cougar men's basketball team (12-16, 7-8) to an 87-70 victory over Pacific Tuesday night at Beasley Coliseum.
 
Vavers was efficient behind the arc, going 5-of-7 from three and 8-of-12 from the floor in 33 minutes. ND Okafor was equally impressive inside, finishing with 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting to go along with four rebounds in 22 minutes. Eemeli Yalaho added 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds, and Jerone Morton added nine points, three assists, and a stea,l while committing zero turnovers in 30 minutes.
 
The contributions off the bench proved pivotal as well. Tomas Thrastarson, in his return to action after missing 12 games, gave WSU a major lift with 11 points, five rebounds and a pair of timely free throws while also knocking down a three in the second half. Adria Rodriguez came off the bench to contribute five points, five assists and a block, and Simon Hildebrandt chipped in nine points on a perfect 3-of-3 from deep in 12 minutes. WSU's bench outscored Pacific's reserves 25-14 on the night.
 
It was a back-and-forth first half, with the lead changing hands seven times and the score tied on seven occasions. Pacific came out with energy, jumping out to early leads and forcing WSU into some uncomfortable stretches before Washington State steadily wrestled control. The Cougars shot a blistering 8-of-13 from three in the opening half and used a late surge — capped by a Vavers three-pointer with 39 seconds left off a Rodriguez assist — to take a 51-40 lead into the break.
 
Midway through the second half Pacific cut the deficit to just one point, 58-57, with under 14 minutes to play, triggering a Washington State timeout. The Cougars answered with back-to-back threes from Morton and held firm, eventually pushing the lead back to double digits by the under-10 media timeout and never looking back after holding Pacific without a point for over four minutes during the scoring flurry. WSU shot over 55% from the floor, converting 14 of 28 three-point attempts, and committed just seven turnovers compared to Pacific's 10.
 
The Cougars will host their final home game of the season, Saturday, February 21, against Saint Mary's. WSU will recognize Simon Hildebrandt and Adria Rodriguez prior to the 7 p.m. tipoff on ESPN2.