Washington State overcomes poor offense to beat San Diego 65-61
PULLMAN — Washington State slogged through a long stretch of poor offense against San Diego on Thursday night, trying to find any way to snap a dry spell. The Cougars couldn’t stop turning it over, and even as their defense stepped up, they needed baskets to avoid a costly loss.
Guard Nate Calmese provided just that in WSU’s 65-61 win over San Diego, scoring five of his 27 points in the final moments to propel the Cougars across the finish line, including a go-ahead 3-pointer and a driving layup with 19 seconds left. He also sank all four of his free throws in the last minute, sewing up the victory and ending a two-game losing streak.
“They’re understanding how hard it is to win, especially on the road,” WSU coach David Riley said in a postgame radio interview. “So there’s a lot to take from this. We kinda had a rough game last week versus Pacific. We didn’t play the right way. I’d say it was very similar to this game. But the beauty of it is we found a way to win today, so that’s growth.”
After racing to an 18-2 start, WSU went cold on offense, letting USD open up a lead as large as seven. The visitors lost 17 turnovers, including 12 in the first half, and their rebounding issues made a rally even more difficult. It was adding up to one of the Cougars’ slowest nights on offense all season.
That began to change late in the second half. With about 2 ½ minutes left, facing a four-point hole, WSU forward Dane Erikstrup knocked down a wing triple, cutting the deficit to one. On the other end, Calmese found himself wide open for his own trey, which he hit, taking a 58-56 lead. After earning another stop on defense, the Cougs got the ball back and let Calmese go to work, foraying to the rim for a 60-56 lead.
From there, the Cougars (14-5, 4-2 WCC) hit 5 of 6 free throws to put the game away, avoiding what would have been a costly Quad 4 loss. With one of those already on their resume — a home setback to Pacific last week — the Cougs couldn’t afford another to maintain a shot at an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
That’s what made Calmese’s night so important. His 27 points tie for his season-high. He added four rebounds and four assists, playing through six turnovers to drag WSU out of San Diego with a win. Erikstrup chipped in 12 points, pulling down 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Saddled with foul trouble for much of the night, wing LeJuan Watts fouled out with nine points.
But outside of an electric start, featuring a 4-for-5 opening from beyond the arc, it was a struggle all night on offense for WSU. The Cougs shot just 42% from the floor, including a 7-for-23 effort from beyond the arc. The Toreros scored 15 points off 17 Cougar turnovers, an issue WSU has not found a way to solve all season, and with Watts on the bench with foul trouble for much of the second half, the Cougars had few answers on offense.
“Played pretty bad for some stretches there,” said Riley, whose team hosts Portland on Saturday afternoon, “and I just think the last couple weeks, I haven’t done a good job of keeping our team in reality. I think we took some steps back, and it didn’t happen in one day. There (were) a couple things that slipped here, a couple things slipped there while we were on a little winning streak, and what you’re seeing right now is us fighting to get that back.”
As WSU prepares to host Portland, which will enter on a six-game skid, Riley will likely hammer rebounding. On Thursday night, the Cougars yielded 18 offensive rebounds, which the Toreros parlayed into 13 second-chance points. USD won the overall rebounding battle, 38-30, which came into play late in the game, allowing the hosts to keep possessions alive and delaying WSU’s rally.
Above all, though, the Cougars will want to get back on track offensively. Forward Ethan Price has now scored 2 and 7 points in back-to-back games. Freshman guard Tomas Thrastarson posted just four points, two at the free throw line.
It’s clear WSU’s short bench, which scored only six points in Thursday’s game, is hurting the club. Cedric Cowrad, Rihards Vavers and Marcus Wilson are all out for the season, but sophomore guard Isaiah Watts is trending toward a return from an injury to his non-shooting hand. That might help the Cougars avoid forgettable offensive outings like this.