PULLMAN — Carter Skaggs had 26 points and seven rebounds, and Viont’e Daniels added 17 points as Washington State beat Seattle University 75-59 on Wednesday night.
Seattle held a five-point lead at halftime after Josh Hearlihy hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to end the first half and the Redhawks started the second half on a 5-0 run to extend it to 36-26.
Skaggs hit seven straight 3-pointers in the second half as he and Daniels combined to shoot 11 of 13 from distance. Skaggs gave Washington State its first lead of the second half on a 3 with 14:23 remaining and the Cougars extended their lead to double digits at the 6:38 mark.
“My job is to make shots, just know your job and do your job,” said Skaggs. “Once I hit the first one, I just got into a rhythm and flow and felt super comfortable.”
The Redhawks (1-2) shot 35.7 percent from the field in the second half, including 4 of 18 from 3-point range. Morgan Means led Seattle with 12 points, and Richaud Gittens added 18 points with six rebounds. Seven-foot-3 Aaron Menzies, who has been a big contributor for the Redhawks, was held to two points and seven rebounds.
“We unraveled and stopped making shots, and that affected our defense, but you got to give the other team credit,” Seattle coach Jim Hayford said. “Washington State played eight minutes of really good basketball when we got that lead. You got to play all 40 minutes or it doesn’t matter.”
Robert Franks and Malachi Flynn, both top scorers in Sunday’s comeback win, combined for 18 points. Franks was 1 of 7 from the field and Flynn missed all four of his 3-pointers.
“To be 2-0 and growing up with this young team, it’s really neat to see, because they are so different than the teams I have had here in the past,” WSU coach Ernie Kent said. “Number one, it’s the youngest team I have probably coached in my coaching career. Number two, it is a team that can really score.”
WOMEN
UW 80, BYU 72
SEATTLE — Washington led nearly wire-to-wire in a non-conference victory over the Cougars on Wednesday at Hec Edmondson Pavilion, helping to alleviate the sting of a 20-point loss against Idaho State on Sunday.
Amber Melgoza led Washinigton with 20 points and eight rebounds on 50 percent shooting from the field.
Missy Peterson, a former Edmonds-Woodway star, started for UW (1-1) but fouled out after 16 scoreless minutes.
Ex-Glacier Peak standout Paisley Johnson scored six points in 17 minutes off the bench for the Cougars (1-1).
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