PULLMAN – One year ago, the Washington State Cougars won 22 games, including an 84-36 rout of Sacramento State in which the Cougars scored the first 27 points.
On Thursday night, Washington State had to rally to beat the Hornets, who won a total of 22 games the previous four seasons.
The Cougars, adjusting to life without Klay Thompson and DeAngelo Casto, avoided one of the most embarrassing losses in school history by rallying for a 79-68 victory at Beasley Coliseum.
“We just came out dead,” WSU senior guard Marcus Capers said. “In the second half, we were more together.”
The Hornets, who have finished last in the Big Sky Conference four consecutive years, often rank among the worst teams in NCAA Division I. ESPN The Magazine, ranking all 344 Division I teams coming into the season, had the Hornets at No. 316.
The Cougars were ranked 99th, but they trailed by margins of 7-0, 14-3 and 25-12 before closing to 39-36 at the half.
WSU did not take the lead for good until freshman guard DaVonté Lacy, the former Curtis High School standout, scored off a missed free throw and added a free throw for a 54-51 lead at the 11-minute mark of the second half.
WSU players, coming off a hard-fought loss at 22nd-ranked Gonzaga before a sellout crowd on national television in their season opener Monday, admitted they did not focus properly on the Hornets.
“The whole game we were low on energy,” Lacy said.
Lacy brought the rather sedate crowd of 4,117 to life when he slammed home a vicious, two-hand dunk off a no-look bounce pass from Faisal Aden with 51/2 minutes to play. Aden scored 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting, and added five steals. He had a number of “hustle plays” at both ends of the floor.
Lacy finished with 15 points and a team-high five assists. Junior post Brock Motum led the Cougars for the second straight game in points (a career-high 23) and rebounds (eight, tying the career high he set Monday).
Junior forward John Dickson, the only two-year letterman on the Hornets, scored 16 of his 21 points in the first half. Junior college transfer Joe Eberhard added 16 points and 12 rebounds in a strong performance. Freshman guard Dylan Garrity contributed 12 assists.
WSU shot 51 percent from the field, but hit just 59 percent at the free-throw line.
Cougars coach Ken Bone gave Lacy, walk-on sophomore forward Will DiIorio and junior guard Mike Ladd (a former Fresno State starter) their first starts. Bone said he hoped the lineup would inspire the Cougars, but he smiled later and said, “It didn’t work.”
DiIorio, the soft-spoken Bainbridge High product, was typically low-key when asked about starting.
“It was great … I wasn’t nervous,” he said.
The Cougars visit Portland (2-1) on Sunday. The 7 p.m. game will not be televised.
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