Recap and highlights: Washington State blows out Stanford 79-62 to reach Pac-12 Tournament semifinals
LAS VEGAS — For a brief moment in Washington State’s win over Stanford, a 79-62 blowout Thursday for a spot in Friday’s Pac-12 Tournament semifinals, Andrej Jakimovski disappeared like a ghost, vanishing into the locker room.
The Cougars’ senior wing, playing through an injured shoulder for the past four games, needed to get his shoulder re-taped. On the court, WSU faced an early deficit, a recurring theme for this group. The Cougs needed Jakimovski, if only for defense and rebounding.
Jakimovski gave his team a lot more. He totaled 13 points on three triples, hitting his first deep ball in nearly two weeks, shrugging off any pain in one of his best games in recent weeks. It came at the perfect time for second-seeded WSU, which secured its third win over Stanford this year, using a scoring barrage to cruise into the tournament semifinals against either third-seeded Colorado or sixth-seeded Utah.
The sterling game from Jakimovski, who shed his shoulder tape entirely late in the first half, mirrored a couple others from his teammates. Six Cougars scored in double figures, including guard Myles Rice, who totaled 14 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, stabilizing his team’s shaky second-half stretch with a steal and breakaway dunk. Wing Jaylen Wells knocked down four triples for 14 points and forward Isaac Jones led with 16 points.
It added up to some of the most complete basketball Washington State has played all year. The Cougars also got 10 points from freshman center Rueben Chinyelu. On defense, WSU forced 11 turnovers for 13 points, racing to 17 fastbreak points. The scoring rarely dropped off for the Cougs, who shot 51% for the game, including 7-for-22 from beyond the arc.
To rebound from its regular-season finale, a six-point setback to rival Washington last week, WSU imposed its will — on both ends of the floor. Outside of a few defensive lapses, which allowed Stanford to trim a 24-point lead to 14 early in the second half, the Cougs acquitted themselves well on defense, getting two thunderous blocks from reserve guard Kymany Houinsou and one from Jones.
The Cougar now in sole possession of the freshman blocks record, Chinyelu, actually didn’t record any. What he did do was, well, most everything else. In 17 minutes, he registered 10 points and 4 rebounds, a sturdy presence on the interior who finished the game plus-10 in the box score. He came off the bench for the first time in four games, yielding to Oscar Cluff, who carded 1 point in 6 minutes.
But Washington State won this game on offense, much like it did in each of the teams’ two clashes in the regular season. Rice couldn’t find the net on four tries from distance — he has now missed his last 18 attempts — but he played some of his best ball recently, getting to the rim for four layups and finding Wells for a few treys.
The Cougs won, too, thanks to several key scoring runs. In the first stanza, WSU ran off 8 straight points: A Wells triple, a Kymany Houinsou flip shot, a Rice layup, a Housinou free throw. That helped WSU take a 15-9 lead, and moments later, it seized a 37-22 lead with 8 straight points.
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First half
19:41 – WSU 0, Stan 0: Cardinal wins the tip and Cluff is immediately called for a foul on the first possession.
16:28 – WSU 7, Stan 7: Chinyelu comes in the game and hits two free throws as Raynaud goes to the bench with two fouls. WSU already with five points from the free throw line. Rice got the Cougs on the board with a layup.
11:27 – WSU 19, Stan 13: Jones makes a couple of nice finishes in the paint as the Cougars assert themselves at the U12 media timeout. Gealer is called for the Cardinal’s 7th team foul. Jones and Rice lead with four points apiece.
7:55 – WSU 29, Stan 19: Houinsou is called for a travel at the U8 media timeout, but the Cougs have taken a double-digit lead.
3:46 – WSU 39, Stan 24: Cougars rolling at the U4 media timeout. Jakimovski looks like he’s feeling better, with a team-high 11 points. Chinyelu, Jones, Rice and Wells add six points apiece.
Halftime
Washington State took command early and have cruised to a 45-29 lead over Stanford in the Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinals.
The Cougars shot 53% from the field, led by Andrej Jakimovski’s 11 points. The Cardinal couldn’t keep pace, shooting 43% and making just 1 of 10 3-point attempts.
Stanford may have made a comeback last round, but they’re going to need to play a lot better than they did in the first half to do so tonight.
Second half
15:15 – WSU 56, Stan 34: Wells hits a 3-pointer and its all Cougars.
Wells and Jakimovski lead with 11 points apiece and Chinyelu joins them in double figures.
10:23 – WSU 60, Stan 46: Cardinal not going away yet, on a 12-2 run over the last 4:15 and the Cougars on a 2:24 scoring drought. Going to need to keep that up over the next few minutes to put a scare in the Cougs.
6:39 – WSU 69, Stan 50: Cougars weather the Stanford run and should start to work the clock. Cardinal unlikely to come back now.
3:26 – WSU 71, Stan 52: Nothing left to decide, but the final score. Cougars will advance to the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals where they await the winner of Utah-Colorado.
Starting 5: WSU rolls out: Rice (15.3 ppg), Wells (12.2), Jones (15.4), Jakimovski (10.1) and Cluff (7.6). Stanford going with Carlyle (11.8 ppg), M. Jones (10.8), S. Jones (11.3), Angel (12.9) and Raynaud (15.8).
Pregame
Will the last year of the Pac-12 Tournament as we know it be the first time Washington State is crowned champion?
The Cougars will have as good as a chance as ever, opening as a No. 2 seed against 10th-seeded Stanford tonight. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. on Pac-12 Network.
WSU had a chance of claiming its first Pac-12 regular-season title, before dropping two of its last four games. The Cougars (23-8, No. 22 AP) will hope to right the ship in Las Vegas before sailing off for their first NCAA Tournament in 16 years.
That starts with the Cardinal (14-17), which came back to beat California in overtime in the first round of the tournament on Wednesday. Stanford’s win may be a welcome sight for WSU, which comfortably beat Stanford twice in the regular season, but split with Cal.
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