WSU falls to SMU, 77-60, taking second place at Acrisure Holiday Invitational

Washington State might need a few days off.

The Cougars took second place at the Acrisure Holiday Invitational with a 77-60 loss to SMU Wednesday night in Palm Springs, California, where their offense eluded them in the second half, allowing the Mustangs to pull away as the game unfolded.

“I thought a big piece of that was just the fatigue. We looked a little tired in that second half,” WSU coach David Riley said in his postgame radio interview. “I thought we scrapped and battled in the first half. It definitely didn’t show on the glass. I thought they were just able to punish us that both halves on that. But we gotta be able to figure out how to gut those ones out.”

WSU, which shot just 37% for the game, got a team-best 15 points from guard Nate Calmese. But in their lowest scoring output all season, the Cougs couldn’t establish much rhythm otherwise, which cost them as SMU got going on offense. Up four at halftime, WSU couldn’t get the stops it needed in the second stanza, which allowed the Mustangs to rip off a 15-1 run midway through the second half.

SMU outscored WSU (6-2) in the second half, 50-29, connecting on 57% of its shots in the second stanza.

The Cougs, who return to action Monday at Nevada, played without injured star Cedric Coward for the second straight game. Coward, reportedly out with a shoulder injury, also missed WSU’s win over Fresno State on Tuesday night. The team’s best all-around player, Coward’s absence made it hard for WSU to generate offense off the dribble, making Calmese the only Cougar who can do so.

“We’re still figuring it out,” Riley said of Coward’s status, “getting a few more answers before we really find out what’s going on.”

It was clear how depleted WSU was on Wednesday night. Also out of action for the Cougs are wing Ri Vavers, who has missed every game since leaving early from WSU’s season-opener with a wrist injury, and guard Marcus Wilson, who came out early against Iowa. That meant Riley had to give 21 minutes to freshman Kase Wynott and 6 to fellow freshman Tomas Thrastarson, who combined for 4 points on 4 shots.

More of an issue for WSU, though, was the rebounding battle. SMU won that, 51-25, including an 22-8 advantage in offensive rebounds. The Mustangs turned those offensive boards into 21 second-chance points, capitalizing on WSU forward Dane Erikstrup’s foul trouble. Totaling just 5 points in 24 minutes, Erikstrup picked up his fourth foul a few minutes into the second half, and he found himself on the bench during SMU’s biggest runs.

“I thought we did a decent job of battling once they did get the O-boards,” Riley said.” They weren’t necessarily efficient on them, but that just wears you down. I mean, it takes the air out of it. You’re not able to run in transition, and we weren’t able to flow into our offense as well, and there’s a lot to learn from.”

The Cougars did do well to limit turnovers, coughing up just eight in Wednesday’s game. That comes after posting 19 turnovers Tuesday against Fresno State, and last week against Eastern Washington, WSU recorded 21 turnovers — 40 in two games. After Wednesday’s game, Riley said he was pleased to see that number come down a bit.

But the Cougs, who also got 12 points apiece from LeJuan Watts and Ethan Price in this loss to SMU, have bigger issues: How do they improve on defense, especially against more physical outfits like the Mustangs? How do they get more from guard Isaiah Watts, who combined for 15 points on 21 shots in these two games in Palm Springs? Watts has hit just 4 of his last 15 tries from distance.

WSU gets a few days off to figure that out before visiting Nevada, which is off to a hot start to this season. The 6-1 Wolfpack, ranked No. 34 in KenPom, have wins over Washington, VCU and Oklahoma State. Their one loss came in a two-point defeat to Vanderbilt.

“It’s a heck of a game,” Riley said. “I feel like we’ve progressed this season with tougher and tougher teams, and Nevada is playing really, really well. They’ve had some great games this year. It’s gonna be a great challenge for us.”