PULLMAN — Klay Thompson scored 29 points to lead Washington State to an 84-70 victory against Oregon State on Thursday night.
Faisal Aden had 15 points, Marcus Capers 12 and Reggie Moore 11 for the Cougars (11-4, 1-2 Pac-10).
Jared Cunningham scored 18 points and Lathen Wallace 12 for the Beavers (7-7, 2-1).
Leading 61-57 with 7:31 remaining, Washington State went on a 13-2 run that was highlighted by a Thompson 3-pointer and dunk, and then iced the game at the free-throw line by going 6 of 8 in the final three minutes.
“I wasn’t really nervous,” Thompson said. “I knew we’d knock down the shots. We showed this year we don’t fade late in games. I think we did well.”
The Cougars made 11 of 29 three-point attempts. Seven of the makes came in the first half, en route to a 42-30 lead at intermission.
“We had great success early, and a lot of that was based on making shots,” Washington State coach Ken Bone said. “In the second half, I don’t know if it was a matter of us losing our legs or what it was, but we just didn’t make some of the 3-point opportunities we made in the first half.”
Early in the second half, the Cougars struggled from the perimeter against Oregon State’s 1-3-1 defense, enabling the Beavers to get within 47-41 when Joe Burton scored on a putback.
Oregon State had 16 second-chance points to Washington State’s six.
“That (defense is) why they’re No. 2 in the country in steals,” Bone said. “They do a great job with it. It’s their bread and butter.”
The Beavers’ rebounding and trapping defense allowed it to narrow the lead to four points when Ahmad Starks hit a long jumper, but that’s as close as they got.
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