Tale of the tape: WSU 75, Utah 65
COUGARS
FROM PULLMAN -- And it's a happy one this time for the Cougars, who won their first Pac-12 game thanks to a barrage of 3-pointers and a balanced offensive effort. Read on for more.
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PLAYER OF THE GAME -- This is an easy one. Mike Ladd scored a game-high 22 points, made 5 of 8 from 3-point range, grabbed six rebounds and played 35 minutes at point guard without committing a turnover. His 14 first-half points were part of the reason Utah had to extend its defense a little bit in the second half and pay more attention to WSU's guards. Ladd's game seems to be evolving before everyone's eyes.
PLAY OF THE GAME -- Ken Bone made reference to it without being prompted: Brock Motum's top-of-the-key 3-pointer after Utah's 10-0 run in the second half. The Utes had cut the lead to 47-41 before Motum knocked down the three. He followed it by making a pair of technical-foul free-throws, then Royce Woolridge made a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession to push WSU back ahead by 14. That was enough.
STAT OF THE GAME -- There are a few important numbers to choose from here. All five of WSU's starters scored in double-figures, first of all, and the Cougars made 11 of their 20 attempts from 3-point range. And WSU scored 28 points off 17 Utah turnovers.
QUOTABLE -- "It’s nice to see that everybody got involved and I think the reason why, and we talked about it the last few days, is Utah’s a great defense. They really (are). That’s a credit to our guys to be able to shoot the percentages they shot from the 3-point line and from the field against a team like Utah and we needed those threes. It was nice to see everybody involved because the way they guarded Brock, obviously it’s a chore to get him the ball and when he does get the ball he’s just crowded so much. So it’s nice to see other guys step up and not hesitate a bit and just fire it up." -- WSU coach Ken Bone
UP NEXT -- Saturday against Colorado, which currently trails Washington by eight points with eight minutes to play. That game tips at 7 p.m. at Beasley Coliseum and will be broadcast by the Pac-12 Networks.
Christian Caple can be reached ay christianc@spokesman.com. Twitter: @ChristianCaple