Washington State comeback falls short against Colorado

Feb 5, 2014; Boulder, CO, USA; Washington State Cougars guard DaVonte Lacy (25) dribbles against Colorado Buffaloes guard Xavier Talton (3) in the second half at the Coors Events Center. The Buffaloes defeated the Cougars 68-63. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

When Washington State (9-13, 2-8 Pac-12) traveled to Boulder to face Colorado (17-6, 6-4 Pac-12) there was renewed optimism coming on the heels of their last outing…a nice win over rival Washington. The Cougs came close, but failed to close the deal.

FINAL: Colorado 68 – WSU 63

Coach Ken Bone tried to shake things up a bit with his starting lineup, inserting physical forward Junior Longrus in the post rather than Jordan Railey. Perhaps Bone was hoping to inspire Railey to play with more passion. If that were the case, the experiment failed.

In a game of runs by both clubs, the Buffs put together a 13- 4 streak midway through the second half to create an insurmountable margin.

Wasted was a brilliant performance by DaVonté Lacy who lit up Colorado for a game-high 34-points to account for more than half of the Cougs total and tops for any individual in the Pac-12 this season in conference play.

Just as in the previous meeting between these two teams back in January, Colorado was the more aggressive team. They pushed the ball upcourt hard following every defensive rebound or WSU turnover. And there were plenty of Cougar turnovers. Seventeen miscues by the Cougs led to 14-points for the Buffaloes.

Lightening quick Askia Booker sliced and diced his way past Washington State defenders at will in the second half of play. Booker delighted Colorado fans with a wide range of penetrating layups which seemed to knock the wind out of WSU defenders.

With the game clock running down, WSU had a chance to earn a win when Xavier Johnson missed a pair of free throws. Lacy looked like a player possessed when he drove to the rack and was fouled. His two free throws brought the Cougs to within 5-points with about a minute left in regulation. But on the ensuing possession, Booker earned a trip to the foul line where he converted a pair to make it a three possession difference with :53.5 remaining. A pair of Lacy treys would tantalize Cougar faithful. WSU would send Booker to the line twice more where he calmly converted three of four chances preserving the win for Colorado.

Watching the final minutes of this contest was puzzling. With the game in the balance, WSU seemed unsure of how to work quickly to get the ball into the hands of their best outside shooters. Draining precious seconds off the clock down the stretch seemed futile. And, in the end, it was.

Washington State travels to Salt Lake City where they will face Utah with a 5pm tipoff this coming Saturday. The game will be telecast on the Pac-12 Network.

ACU includes a photo slide show for your pleasure by clicking on the ‘Next’ arrow below WSU notes.

GO COUGS!!!

WASHINGTON STATE NOTES

Junior DaVonté Lacy led WSU with a career-high 34-points, the most by a Cougar since Royce Woolridge scored 36 last season against Oregon. He finished 8-for-13 from 3-point range and in the process tied Marcus Moore (2001-04) for eighth on WSU’s career 3-point list with 152 career 3-pointers made. Lacy made a career-high 8 3-pointers and was one 3-pointer shy of the WSU school record.

Freshman

had a personal Pac-12 high 10 points…he had a career-high 6 assists.