Washington State falls to New Orleans 70-54 in Pullman
Published 8:00 pm Saturday, December 3, 2016
Associated Press
PULLMAN — New Orleans’ last win over a Pac-12 opponent dates back to 1998. On Saturday, a low-attended road game against streaky Washington State presented an opportunity.
The Privateers owned the Cougars on the glass, shot 53.7 percent from the field and Erik Thomas had 17 points and 10 boards as New Orleans defeated Washington State 70-54 to cement the landmark.
“I think it’s a step forward for our program,” New Orleans coach Mark Slessinger said. “My biggest concern was being prepared … and they had good counters from start to finish . I’m humbled at how hard these guys play,”
Christavious Gill scored 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting, Travin Thibodeaux added 16 points and Tevin Boyle finished with 10 points and six assists for the Privateers (4-3).
Washington State (4-4) hung around in the second half, but New Orleans kept its lead hovering around 10 throughout most of the period and had a late 10-2 run to pull away to an 18-point lead in the final minute.
“What little success we’ve had I don’t think we handled it well,” Washington State coach Ernie Kent said. “I just thought the start of game, if the ball doesn’t go down, that really determines what type of energy we play with the rest of the way. I didn’t feel like we had a sense of urgency or energy.”
New Orleans dominated Washington State on the glass 36-20.
Robert Franks led the Cougars in scoring with a career-high 16 points off the bench.
Shorewood alum Josh Hawkinson had 13 points and six rebounds for the Cougars.
