PULLMAN — Not long before Myles Rice got to the rim and iced another Washington State win, this time 78-69 over Colorado on Saturday afternoon, he collided with a Buffalo on a drive. He sustained a noticeable limp.
He was already dealing with a lingering quad injury. WSU coach Kyle Smith was trying to limit his minutes anyway. The game was teetering. The Cougars, up as many as 13, had just a three-point lead with 90 seconds left. Beasley Coliseum’s second-largest crowd of the season — 3,273 — grew restless.
With a chance to secure another Quad 1 win, an important addition to their NCAA tournament resume, how would they respond?
Rice provided the answer himself. He got to the rim for two straight layups. He shrugged off any pain that might have been bothering him and pushed the Cougs across the finish line, securing their fifth win in six tries, locking up their third Quad 1 win of the year.
“100% confidence,” said WSU forward Isaac Jones, who totaled 13 points and 11 rebounds, referring to Rice. “The kid is fast. He can get to the basket whenever. I feel great when the ball is in his hands in situations like that, especially when they tried to trap, because he’s just gonna break the trap and do what he just did.”
In its latest addition to its tournament resume, WSU got double-digit scoring efforts from four players: Wing Jaylen Wells and Rice each posted 17 points, Jones logged 13 points and senior Andrej Jakimovski added 11 points. Freshman center Rueben Chinyelu paired 6 points with 3 blocks, including one at the rim on CU star Cody Williams, projected to be a top-five NBA draft pick this summer.
Washington State (15-6, 6-4 Pac-12) may feel encouraged by this win more than others. Rice sat for a good chunk of the first half with foul trouble — but his team kept the lead and added to it. The Cougars lost just 6 turnovers, their fewest this season in conference play. In crunchtime, after Colorado guard KJ Simpson hit a 3 to pull within four with 34 seconds left, Jones followed with an and-one layup, all but sealing this one.
After the game, it became clear that WSU coach Kyle Smith felt most proud of one thing.
“They kept their pose when their head coach didn’t,” Smith said.
Smith was referring to one stretch in the second half when the Buffaloes put together a rally. Guard Tristan da Silva canned back-to-back triples, using an uncalled push-off on Rice to get space for the second. Minutes later, Rice had a layup blocked, but Smith saw a goaltend, prompting him to react and get a technical foul, leading to two Colorado free throws, which turned into a 7-0 CU run.
That helped the Buffaloes draw within three, 63-60. Also in that span, officials ejected two fans from the game. Chaos set in. Colorado was creeping back into the game.
Foul trouble was also starting to plague the Cougs. They played the final few minutes with three starters saddled with four fouls: Wells, Rice and center Oscar Cluff, who totaled 5 points. If the Buffaloes were going to steal this one, they had all the ingredients.
“It’s leadership,” Smith said. “Myles was great. He was like, Coach, calm down. I was just mad that I was arguing over a blocked shot. I missed it. My wife — she’s in trouble if I see it and it was a goaltend. I’m like, am I that crazy? It was a tight game.”
The Cougs got several key baskets to help them hold on. One came from true freshman guard Isaiah Watts, who capped an 11-2 run with a triple. On the previous trip, WSU got a dunk from Cluff. The roof was asking to come off. Then Watts canned the 3 and the Cougars went up 13.
“I don’t think he misses, actually,” said Wells, who pulled down 10 rebounds.
“He’s Mr. Big Shot,” added Jones, who snared 11 of his own boards, good for his sixth double-double of the season.
“When it happens, it’s like, that’s what he does,” Wells said. “We know Rueben blocks. We know Isaiah is gonna shoot big shots — and he’s gonna make them.”
Then, later in the closing minutes, Washington State went back to Jones. His team nursing a 63-60 lead, Jones backed his man down and curled to his left, leaning in for a layup to push the lead to five. Couple those with Rice’s two layups and you get the Cougs’ clutch shot-making in this win.
But they might not have secured this win without playing some of their best defense of the season. Williams scored 6 points, one of his lowest outputs of the year, and he did not make a shot. It was his first time all season going 0-for from the field. He’s missed time with injury, but never had he been limited like this.
The Cougs did yield 25 points to Simpson, who burned them for 34 points in their last meeting, and they gave up another 16 to da Silva. They’ve permitted a few crooked numbers this winter. But WSU’s interior defense is coming together. Thanks to shot-blockers like Chinyelu and Jones, the Buffaloes converted just 9 of 20 layups in this one.
That level of rim protection is valuable on its own. The Cougars like to leverage it into fast-break opportunities, where they posted 6 points on Saturday. It’s a force multiplier in some cases.
“Whenever I see a guy go in, I’m protecting my house first,” Chinyelu said. “My house is on fire. I have to go put out the fire.”
With this win, WSU has moved up to No. 45 in the KenPom rankings. The Cougars entered the day at the same spot in the NET rankings, which change every morning, so they could ascend in those too. For them, the important part is they’re continuing to offset their Quad 3 loss to Cal last weekend with quality wins, like Quad 1 victories over Utah on Wednesday and Colorado on Saturday.
Washington State now gets a week off before traveling to Seattle on Feb. 3 to take on Washington.
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