WSU tops Missouri State 91-78 for third straight win, but Cedric Coward will miss rest of the season

[ad_1]

Dec. 14—PULLMAN — It took Washington State about two hours to polish off a convincing win over Missouri State on Saturday afternoon.

Afterward, It took about a minute for the Cougars’ season outlook to change in an enormous way.

A few minutes after WSU completed a 91-78 win over Missouri State, the Cougs’ third straight win and their sixth in seven games, coach David Riley delivered the news that figures to change the trajectory of his team’s season: Star wing Cedric Coward will miss the rest of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery this week.

The team’s best player, Coward had averaged 17.7 points and seven rebounds in six games, giving WSU valuable shot-creation and defense. Coward, a veteran who played two seasons for Riley at Eastern Washington, went down with a shoulder injury sometime after the club’s win over EWU on Nov. 21.

Riley did not comment on the matter after the game, but it seems likely Coward could secure a medical redshirt and return for another season. Whether he wants to might be the deciding factor for Coward, who tested the NBA waters before transferring to WSU earlier this year.

The bad news for WSU didn’t stop there. Freshman guard Marcus Wilson will miss the rest of the season after undergoing his own shoulder surgery, and transfer wing Rihards Vavers will “most likely” miss the remainder of the year after breaking bones in both of his hands, Riley said. Vavers initially suffered an injury in the team’s season-opener, only to get re-injured last week against Nevada, and Wilson went down against Iowa on Nov. 15.

Those add up to three costly losses for the Cougars, who have been shorthanded all season. Freshman guard Kase Wynott returned to action Saturday after missing the previous two games. Freshman center Dimitrije Vukicevic appears headed for a redshirt year. That leaves WSU with nine healthy scholarship players. Riley played all nine in Saturday’s game.

For some time, it seemed like the Cougars would need to. They fell behind 9-2 to start…

[ad_2]
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/wsu-tops-missouri-state-91-030100731.html

Author : The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.

Publish date : 2024-12-15 03:01:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.