PULLMAN – One week ago, following Washington State’s blowout loss at Washington, a reporter asked Cougars point guard Reggie Moore if he still thought his team had a shot at the NCAA tournament.
“Of course,” Moore replied.
In light of WSU’s 81-70 loss to Arizona State on Thursday night, many Cougars fans would probably want to add a word to Moore’s response. As in, “Of course not.”
The young Cougars, who opened the season 6-0 and entered Pacific-10 Conference play with a 10-2 overall record, have lost a season-high three straight games and five of seven. On Thursday, the Cougars trailed 40-26 at halftime after 11-of-31 shooting from the field (35.5 percent), 1-of-10 accuracy from 3-point range (10 percent) and 3-of-10 shooting from the free-throw line (30 percent).
“It’s hard to beat anybody (shooting like that),” WSU coach Ken Bone said.
The Cougars fell behind by 19 early in the second half, then staged an impressive rally that twice narrowed the deficit to four points in the final nine minutes. The Sun Devils (16-7 overall, 6-4 Pac-10) sealed the deal at the free-throw line.
“Our kids battled back,” Bone said. “I’m really proud of them.”
“They did a great job coming back,” Arizona State coach Herb Sendek said, “and their crowd gave them a lot of energy.”
Actually, fan support for the home team was spotty from the Friel Court crowd of 7,360. In addition to a loud, extended, profane chant after a foul against the Cougars in the first half, an occasional boo greeted missed shots by WSU star Klay Thompson, and fans were often uncommonly quiet when the game was still in doubt.
The crowd’s low point may have come midway through the first half when Rihards Kuksiks blew past WSU’s DeAngelo Casto to score a layup.
“He’s a white guy!” a fan screamed, referring to Kuksiks.
Junior guard Ty Abbott, continuing to rebound from a shooting slump that lasted most of last season (following a fine freshman season), led the Sun Devils with 18 points and nine rebounds. No wonder the Cougars recruited Abbott in earnest.
“He’s having a terrific season,” Sendek said. “Not only with his play, but he’s really provided our squad with outstanding leadership.”
Senior point guard Derek Glasser, coming off the bench for the second straight game following a recent slump, scored 15 points. Senior center Eric Boetang added 13 points and eight rebounds.
Thompson led the Cougars (14-8, 4-6) with 20 points and a career-high six steals, but his shooting woes continued. Thompson was plagued by 6-of-20 accuracy, including 2-of-10 shooting from 3-point range.
“The more shots he puts up,” Bone said, “the sooner he’ll come out of it.”
Bone praised Thompson’s defense, but the coach was disappointed that his team again suffered from numerous defensive lapses. The Cougars rank last in the Pac-10 with 72.4 points allowed per game.
ASU shot 62.5 percent in the first half and 56.5 percent for the game. WSU shot 42.1 percent, including 16.7 percent on 3s (3-of- 18). The Sun Devils rank among the national leaders with 58 points allowed per game.
Moore, WSU’s second-leading scorer, produced all 13 of his points in the second half. Nikola Koprivica and Marcus Capers also had 13 points. Capers was limited to seven minutes in the first half when he drew three fouls in a brief span.
The Cougars slipped into a tie for eighth place with Stanford.
Arizona (12-10, 6-4), tied for second with Arizona State and UCLA, visits Washington State at 5:30 p.m. Saturday on FSN.
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