WSU Basketball: Steadily Improving Cougs Top Purdue
By Lew Wright
Nov 28, 2013; Orlando, FL, USA; Washington State Cougars head coach Ken Bone reacts to a referee in the second half of their Old Spice Classic game against the Butler Bulldogs at HP Field House. The Butler Bulldogs beat the Washington State Cougars 76-69. Mandatory Credit: Phil Sears-USA TODAY Sports
Washington State (3-3) continued to come together as team Friday morning. This Cougar squad looks to have serious potential based on their last two performances in the Old Spice Classic.
FINAL: WSU 69 – PURDUE 54
The Cougs played Purdue tough much of the first half only to see their efforts overshadowed by a nice push by their opponent just minutes before halftime. Using a combination of takeaways and strong rebounding, Purdue led by 10-points at the intermission.
Defense was the difference in this one.
Coach Ken Bone implemented a lot of zone but mixed in just enough man-to-man to keep the Boilermakers off balance. Purdue averaged 86 points per game coming into this game and the Cougar “D” held them to 32-points below that norm.
DaVonté Lacy turned in another smooth performance with a game-high 16-points, 4 boards and 4 assists.
But the guy who made the difference in this one for WSU was Jordan Railey who scored 13-points on 6 of 7 shooting. Railey finally looked comfortable out on the floor looking to score and causing Purdue problems with his size in the paint on defense. He logged a couple of blocks while forcing Purdue to change their shots near the rim.
Just how good was the Cougar offense working? They were a white-hot 66% from the field in the second half, finishing 45% for the contest.
Coach Bone saw his defense set the tone for the WSU offense. The spectacular field goal conversion in the second half was fueled by a feisty defense which held Purdue to just 25% from the floor.
Nov 28, 2013; Orlando, FL, USA; Washington State Cougars forward Junior Longrus (15) dunks the ball in the second half of their Old Spice Classic game as Butler Bulldogs forwards Erik Fromm (4) and Andrew Chrabascz (45) watch at HP Field House. The Butler Bulldogs beat the Washington State Cougars 76-69. Mandatory Credit: Phil Sears-USA TODAY Sports
The game turned on a 10-2 run by Washington State to begin the second half erasing most of the Boilermaker halftime lead. The Cougs bookended that performance scoring the final 9-points of the game.
Washington State will wait to find out who the play in their final game in the consolation bracket of the Old Spice Classic at 9am PST Sunday morning broadcast on ESPNU.
GO COUGS!!!
WASHINGTON STATE NOTES
- The Cougs had balanced scoring to go along with Lacy and Railey. Royce Woolridge finished with 13-points, 4-assists, 1-steal and a block. D.J. Shelton added 12-points on 5 of 9 shooting. DJ played strong in the paint grabbing 6-boards while dishing out a pair of assists and blocking one shot.