Cougs hold off San Diego on senior day
WSU men defeated their WCC foe 93-86 in Pullman
PULLMAN — Washington State men’s basketball honored Cedric Coward, Dane Erikstrup and Ethan Price before a senior night game in which the Cougars defeated San Diego 93-86 on Thursday at Beasley Coliseum.
The result broke a three-game losing streak for WSU (17-13, 7-10 West Coast Conference). The Cougs have gone 10-4 in home games and are now guaranteed a winning overall record in coach David Riley’s debut season.
“I’m really excited to send these seniors off with a win,” said Riley, who coached the trio at Eastern Washington before they followed him to the Palouse. “I thought they’ve done a lot for Washington State. I got to coach all of them for three and four years, and it’s just great to see them come out with the fire and edge that we needed.”
Erikstrup scored a team-high 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field and a perfect 4-of-4 from 3-point range. Price added 17 points plus seven rebounds.
LeJuan Watts recorded his eighth double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Isaiah Watts added 11 points, 10 of them coming in the first half.
Although the Cougs allowed their foes a season-high 61 points in the second half, their dominant 53-25 showing prior to intermission proved too much for the Toreros (4-26, 1-16) to overcome. In that first half, Washington State shot 65% from the field including 57% from beyond the arc.
Wazzu had clear advantages in rebounding (39-24) and assists (18-11) for the night.
Washington State will cap off its regular season facing Pepperdine on the road Saturday, then look forward to the West Coast Conference Championships beginning March 7 in Las Vegas.
SAN DIEGO (4-26, 1-16)
Trouet 8-12 4-5 21, Jamerson 6-12 1-3 13, Clouet 4-10 0-0 11, Dahlke 1-2 0-0 2, Duckett 8-22 2-3 21, Chammaa 3-5 3-4 10, Pierre 2-7 0-0 6, Simon 0-2 0-0 0, Webb 0-0 0-0 0, Muncey 0-0 0-0 0, Gaffney 0-2 0-0 0, Brooks 1-1 0-0 2, Beniwal 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-75 10-15 86.
WASHINGTON ST. (17-13, 7-10)
Erikstrup 8-10 3-4 23, Price 6-14 4-4 17, L.Watts 5-7 3-5 13, Calmese 2-5 0-0 4, I.Watts 4-8 3-5 13, Thrastarson 3-3 1-2 7, Gerrits 1-2 0-0 3, Okafor 2-2 1-2 5, Vavers 3-4 0-0 8, Wynott 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 34-57 15-22 93.
Halftime — Washington St. 53-25. 3-Point Goals — San Diego 10-29 (Clouet 3-7, Duckett 3-10, Pierre 2-5, Chammaa 1-1, Trouet 1-4, Gaffney 0-1, Simon 0-1), Washington St. 10-23 (Erikstrup 4-4, Vavers 2-3, I.Watts 2-4, Gerrits 1-2, Price 1-4, Calmese 0-2, L.Watts 0-2, Wynott 0-2). Fouled Out — Jamerson, Erikstrup. Rebounds — San Diego 24 (Jamerson 11), Washington St. 39 (L.Watts 10). Assists — San Diego 11 (Chammaa 5), Washington St. 18 (L.Watts 5). Total Fouls — San Diego 21, Washington St. 17. A — 3,233 (11,671).
