Washington State Cougars

Cougars used balanced attack to beat Wildcats, 78-60

Posted on 06 February 2010 by Jesse Baumgartner

PULLMAN – If Washington State was to win on Saturday against the Arizona Wildcats, it seemed the storyline would center on a resurgence from Klay Thompson.

After struggling with his normally consistent shooting stroke, the Cougars’ star sophomore would stumble upon an epiphany with his wrist flick to snap WSU out of its three-game losing streak.

But though the Cougars did indeed get a crucial 78-60 win over the Wildcats at Beasley Coliseum, Thompson was not the story.

He was a part of it, no doubt, with 14 points, a moderate 11 shot attempts and a couple of important jumpers in the second half to help the Cougars (15-8, 5-6) separate themselves. But the theme of the night was more about WSU’s balanced effort, which featured effective inside scoring, unexpected contributions off the bench and an energized defensive effort.

“As far as teamwork and as far as being together, I think we played one of our best games of the season,” forward DeAngelo Casto said.

Casto was one of the most important parts of that performance, starting from the opening tip when he scored WSU’s first four points. He entered the game averaging just eight points in Pac-10 play, but proceeded to put up 10 in the first half with a variety of post moves. That was coupled with six rebounds, as he thoroughly outplayed UA standout freshman Derrick Williams during the first 20 minutes (Williams ended with 16 points and seven boards).

“Part of it has to do with us just doing a better job of getting DeAngelo the ball inside,” WSU coach Ken Bone said. “And I think that helped with his confidence, especially when he converts baskets early in the game.”

Even with that early production from Casto, though, WSU fell behind 12-4 in the first five minutes. And with Abe Lodwick out sick, Nik Koprivica on the bench with foul trouble and some lapses on defense, Bone subbed in a lineup that included little-used subs Brock Motum and Steven Bjornstead.

The mere novelty of the move seemed to pick WSU up initially, but Motum’s early appearance gradually became more important as the Australian freshman hammered home a dunk late in the first half and even knocked down a jumper in the second half on his way to 10 points in 17 minutes – both career-highs.