Washington State overcomes slow start to beat Portland State 100-92

PULLMAN — David Riley gathered his assistants in a small circle near the free-throw line at Beasley Coliseum. In their first games as Washington State coaches, they all sported white polos with the crimson WSU logo stitched in the top-right corner, and early in the second half of Monday’s season-opener against Portland State, they began to put their heads together.

Maybe they were chatting about how to keep the Cougars’ offense flowing, about how to shore up their defense, about how to maintain all the playstyle ideals that the head man Riley is carrying over from his previous stop of Eastern Washington. They didn’t seem anxious, only a little frazzled.

Whatever WSU’s coaches were discussing, they were certainly happy to be chatting about how to polish off a 100-92 win over Portland State, not how to make up the double-digit deficit the Cougars faced early in the first half. With a huge scoring surge and revamped defense, the hosts had no problem turning things around in time to blow out the Vikings.

“We have so much to improve on. We showed how great we can be as a team,” said senior wing Cedric Coward, who totaled 23 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. “I think we’re a national championship caliber team, but moments like that in the game where we start off a game down 21-4 — that can’t happen. So we just go back to the drawing board and figure out what was the problem.”

In Riley’s inaugural game as WSU’s head coach, six Cougars scored in double figures, led by Coward, who scored 23 and holdover guard Isaiah Watts, who posted 20. Point guard Nate Calmese registered 17 points and center Ethan Price logged 16. Center Dane Erikstrup tallied 12 and wing LeJuan Watts, who fouled out, added 11.

WSU, which returns to action Friday night to host Bradley, used that scoring punch to pull away as the game went on. Down as much as 21-4 to begin the game, the Cougars responded with a 23-7 run to leap ahead, then rode that momentum to the finish line.

“I think it was easy to see that our team had some nerves. I was very excited going into this game as well,” said Riley, who won his debut game as WSU’s head coach. “And once we settled in, it was fun to watch our guys score the ball offensively, and we got some work to do on the other side. I thought it was a good overall first game.”

As this one unfolded, WSU fixed many of the issues that led to this slow start. For the game, the Cougs lost 21 turnovers, which were coming left and right in the opening minutes. They allowed the Vikings to shoot 49% from the floor, including 12 triples, down in a big way from their scorching start to the contest. WSU also improved mightily at the free throw line, sinking 25 of 32 attempts after a sluggish 1-for-4 start.

Most of the night, the Cougs’ defense had trouble limiting the Vikings’ offense. The visitors shot 54% from the field in the second half, including six 3-pointers. For the game, Portland State scored 40 points in the paint, plus 16 second-chance points from 13 offensive rebounds. The Vikings started so hot in large part because they won the battle on the glass, at least early on.

It was one of the things Riley said may have happened because of nerves. The Cougs were getting beat on dribble-drives, giving up turnovers thanks to the Vikings’ full-court press, getting beat to rebounds. Only time will tell if those issues persist throughout the season, but to Riley, they were uncharacteristic mistakes his guys don’t usually make.

“I knew that we just had to stay steady,” Riley said. “The big thing that encouraged me — I guess it was encouraging — was the fact that we were just doing crazy stuff, stuff I’d never seen our players do. It was like, this will wear off here in a minute, once they get settled into the game.”

Riley also provided a window into who will be playing key roles on this team, which returns only two players from last season’s NCAA Tournament team, Watts and Parker Gerrits, who logged four minues on Monday. The Cougs’ starters included Coward, Price, Calmese, Erikstrup and LeJuan Watts. Isaiah Watts (no relation) was WSU’s first player off the bench.

All told, Riley played nine guys, including true freshman Marcus Wilson. Cal transfer ND Okafor and true freshman Kase Wynott were not dressed for the game because they’re day-to-day with injuries, Riley said. Late in the game, WSU wing Rihard Vavers left the game, holding his wrist. He looked to be in significant pain as he jogged to the locker room, but after the game, Riley said he was told it isn’t serious — though he will have it checked out.

It also became clear this team will need some time to gel. With 11 newcomers on this roster, the Cougars are still adjusting to playing alongside each other, and the evidence was in the turnovers. Calmese coughed it up five times. Isaiah Watts and Coward each turned it over four times. Price and Erikstrup, the latter of whom also fouled out, lost three turnovers apiece.

The Cougs get a few days to iron out those issues before Bradley comes to town on Friday.