Washington State Basketball: Cougs Can’t Hold On, Lose to Ducks 68-61
By Josh Davis
Jan, 23, 2013; Eugene, OR, USA; Oregon Ducks center Tony Woods (55)] blocks a shot against the Washington State Cougars at Matthew Knight Arena. Mandatory Credit: Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports
Oregon has gone 6-0 in conference for the first time in 87 years after their comeback win against Washington State Wednesday night. The Ducks trailed by 10 at half and 6 midway through the second half due to a very aggressive Washington State team that showed up with an upset on their minds.
Then it quickly turned into the E.J. Singler Show, as he carried Oregon with 14 points in the final 10 minutes. Arsalen Kazemi poured in 16 behind that and was a force at both the offensive and defensive end the entire game. He made plays that will go unseen in the boxscore but made a huge difference all night.
Washington State’s Mike Ladd did the same in the first half, scoring 14 points, grabbing 6 boards and dishing 5 assists. However Ladd’s great half was forgotten when he missed 4 of his last 6 free throws with less than 4 minutes to play, allowing #16 Oregon to hang on for dear life and become 17-2 on the season. He ended with 19 points, 8 rebounds and still 5 assists. The Pac-12’s leading scorer, Brock Motum was held to a less-than-average 14 points while only collecting 4 rebounds.
Washington State falls to a disappointing 10-9 and 1-5 in conference. They will head to a winless conference opponent in Oregon State, barring an unlikely victory over Washington tonight, on Saturday.