Washington State Basketball: Cougars Win Opener Against Eastern Washington

March 7, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Washington State Cougars mascot performs in the second half of the game against the Oregon State Beavers during the first round of the 2012 Pac 12 Tournament at the Staples Center. Oregon State won 69-64. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

The Cougars picked up their first win of the season last night against the Eastern Washington Eagles in a dominating performance. This team was much more prepared this game and executed on offense more efficiently than in their exhibition match up against St. Martin’s last Tuesday. Even though Eastern Washington is no powerhouse in basketball, this was a good way for the Cougars to start off their season on a high note. WSU blew out the Eagles 88-69 and it all started in the first half when the Cougars came out strong; upping the lead to 19 points going into halftime. The Eagles would stay in the game for a little bit and ended up scoring as many points as WSU in the second half, but a slow first half blew their chances of making it a game.

WSU senior forward Brock Motum finished the game with 23 points and 10 rebounds which resulted in his fourth career double-double . Senior guard Mike Ladd and Sophomore guard DeVonte Lacy each contributed with 15 points for the Cougars. WSU sophomore point guard Royce Woolridge seems to be picking up the point guard position and getting better at the position each game. He was able to contribute 7 points and 2 assists.

The Cougars shot 54 percent from the field for the game and had a shooting percentage of 61 percent in the second half. After being out-rebounded against St. Martins, the Cougars made a major improvement and were able to out-rebound Eastern Washington by 13. With WSU lacking height this season, rebounding is going to be key part for the Cougars if they want to have any success this season. This is still a very young inexperienced WSU basketball team, and improving each game will be what Ken Bone and his staff are looking for this season.The Cougars will go for their second straight win as they play their next game this Wednesday against Utah Valley at 7:00 p,m in Beasley Coliseum. The game will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.

–Evan Baron (Follow me on twitter @BaselineBaron09)