SEATTLE — Basketball is a game of runs, and Friday night’s Apple Cup inside Alaska Airlines Arena was no exception.
Washington State twice saw a 13-point lead evaporate, but the Cougars held on for a 78-74 victory over Washington to complete a season sweep in the rivalry series.
The Cougars’ trio of CJ Elleby, Noah Williams, and Isaac Bonton combined for 56 of the team’s 78 points on the night.
Washington’s comebacks were fueled by great defense, as the Huskies forced 14 turnovers in the second half. The defensive charge was led by Jamal Bey, who had an excellent night on the defensive end as he recorded five steals, with all but one of them coming in the second half.
As a whole, the Huskies forced 21 turnovers to the Cougars’ 15. Washington head coach Mike Hopkins pointed to his offense as to why his team couldn’t pull out the win.
“Our energy levels, the ball was stopping, we didn’t have good rhythm in the first half. It was our offense, it was flow. It wasn’t good,” Hopkins said following the loss.
In a game full of major momentum shifts, no moment showed up bigger than a five-point swing for the Cougars following a Bey technical foul in the second half. After the Huskies took a 51-50 lead, Bey blocked a shot by Bonton but was called for staring Bonton down. Bonton hit both technical free throws, and Elleby followed up with a 3-pointer that sucked the energy out of the arena and gave Washington State a 55-51 lead. From that point on, the Cougars had all the momentum.
“In these types of games, you can’t give them five-point plays,” Hopkins said.
As for the remainder of the regular season, Hopkins still believes in his squad, which is heading into the final week of what has been a disappointing season for a team that was projected to finish inside the top three in the Pac-12.
“I know we’re good. I know we are. It’s just can we get them to be a little more consistent at times … we’re right there, we’re playing hard, we just have to play smarter and execute a little bit better for longer periods of time,” Hopkins said.
Note
It was Senior Night for Washington, which was playing its final home game of the season. Seniors Sam Timmins, Jason Crandall and Quin Barnard started the game, with Crandall and Barnard exiting after two minutes.
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