‘We should be right there with them’: How Washington State let a close first half slip away against No. 18 Gonzaga

[ad_1]

Jan. 12—Nate Calmese’s curls hung on the sides of his face as he stared blankly at the table in front of him, thinking about his Washington State group’s 88-75 road setback to No. 18 Gonzaga, and what went wrong for his Cougars on Saturday evening.

WSU couldn’t shake the turnover bug, losing 16 on the night, four from Calmese. The Cougs yielded a back-breaking 13-0 surge in the final moments of the first half and the opening few of the second. They lost shooters, gave up too many offensive rebounds and listened to The Kennel soundtrack the Zags’ win in this rivalry’s first game in a decade with ear-splitting roars.

Calmese’s mind wandered to the first half, when the Cougars took a lead as big as six, taking control with 10 straight points. To Calmese, who scored a game-high 20 points, that stretch — which included all seven of forward ND Okafor’s points, a basket by wing LeJuan Watts and Calmese’s 1-for-2 free-throw showing — proved something about his club.

“If we play the way we’re supposed to play,” Calmese said, “we should be right there with them.”

It’s something of a complicated scenario for the Cougs, who have lost two straight, continuing to operate with four key injured players. Calmese might be right — the Cougs might be able to hang with the Zags. In large part, they did so in the first half, playing through 12 turnovers to take multiple leads and hit key 3-pointers.

But to make the most of this season, to take full advantage of the few Quad 1 opportunities on the remaining regular-season slate, WSU (13-5, 3-2 WCC) would do well to learn from what went awry in the second half.

The Cougars took better care of the ball, committing only four turnovers in the final 20 minutes, but their defense slipped. They let one basket turn into two, two to turn into three, until they looked up and they were down 20, Gonzaga students serenading players as pop music blared over the speakers.

“That was our thing,” WSU coach David Riley said. “When things get tough, or they throw…

[ad_2]
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/them-washington-state-let-close-160300033.html

Author : The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.

Publish date : 2025-01-12 16:03:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.