Tuesday, March 26, 2013 @ 10:16am

Cougars trying to create culture of competition

Junior Connor Halladay is expected to battle with freshman Austin Apodaca for Washington State's starting quarterback job. (AP)

By 710sports.com staff

With Washington State's spring football practice in progress, the program's attention is firmly aimed at battles at the quarterback and offensive line positions.

Cougars coach Mike Leach joined 710 ESPN Seattle's "Afternoons with the Go 2 Guy" Monday and said his staff is focused on creating a culture of competition, which will help at both spots.

Under center, rising junior Connor Halladay is the front-runner after playing in nine of WSU's 12 games in 2012. But don't count out redshirt freshman Austin Apodaca.

"We've got two guys (back) that I think their ability level is similar," Leach said. "Connor's a little more experienced, so i think that he's a little ahead on the mental aspect of things, but Austin Apodaca's been doing some good things as well."

The Cougars will also have four-star recruit Tyler Bruggman incoming as a signal caller.

On the line, depth is a big plus compared to last year for WSU.

"We've got more bodies out there than we've had. I think they do provide some depth, and they also provide some competition," said Leach. "Both are desperately needed as far as improvement goes, and we're a little stronger, which I'm happy about too."

Depth is a point of emphasis for the Cougars in Leach's second year.

"Once a guy's got something wrapped up or it becomes obvious that the only guy that's going to play is him, then maybe there's not the sense of urgency that exists if somebody's breathing down your neck, so we're trying to create that as much as possible," Leach said.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013 @ 3:59pm

Could new pope be Coug fan?

The shot of the WSU flag flying outside the Vatican in Rome is making the rounds of the Internet. It's not totally unbelievable. After all, the Crimson colors have flown at every ESPN College Gameday for nine years and the Masters, according to Craig Powers over at SB Nation's CougCenter.

While Powers is dubious, you can't dispute it's pretty clever. So props to @RachaelHansen1 for posting.

Saturday, March 9, 2013 @ 6:14pm

Washington State defeats USC 76-51

PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) - Washington State waited until the last two games of the Pac-12 season to go on a win streak in conference play.

Brock Motum scored 31 points and Royce Woolridge added 25 as Washington State closed out the regular season by crushing USC 76-51 on Saturday.

Woolridge hit five 3-pointers and Motum three, helping the Cougars (13-18, 4-14 Pac-12) to their first winning streak in conference play this season with a sweep of the Los Angeles schools. Washington State defeated UCLA on Wednesday.

"Considering where we were with our record, to come back home and play two good games does a lot for our confidence, and it was the right time to do it," Washington State coach Ken Bone said. "If we didn't do it this weekend, it would never happen."

The Cougars earned the 11th seed in the conference tournament and plays No. 6 seed Washington on Wednesday in Las Vegas.

T.J. Terrell had 18 points for the Trojans (14-17, 9-9). He was the only player in double figures for USC, as it struggled from the field (19 for 56) and behind the arc (4 for 24).

USC is seeded seventh in the tournament and faces No. 10 seed Utah on Wednesday.

Washington State never trailed and raced to a 22-point lead in the first half. Motum had 21 of his points before halftime.

The Trojans opened up the second half with an 18-4 run and cut the deficit to five, 45-40.

"I thought our guys did a nice job dealing with the run in the second half. They started making shots and pushed the ball in transition," Bone said. "We did not play well the opening minutes of the second half, but we stuck together and started making baskets."

The Cougars put the game out of reach when Woolridge hit four consecutive 3-pointers to make the score 66-46 with 4:42 remaining.

"They have improved a great deal since the last time we played; there is a big difference in how they execute their offense and how they play on defense," USC interim coach Bob Cantu said.

Washington State outrebounded the Trojans 45-34 and committed only five turnovers.

Friday, March 8, 2013 @ 11:32am

Commish still hopes to bring Pac-12 to DIRECTV

One question has weighed on the minds of college sports fans since the Pac-12 Network hit the air -- when will it be brought to DIRECTV?

Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott addressed that issue when he joined "Brock and Salk" Friday, and while there doesn't appear to be any progress between the two sides, Scott was adamant that the conference is determined to make a deal.

"Well I can't give you an exact date, but what I can tell you is it's priority No. 1," Scott said of striking a deal with DIRECTV, which he noted is the only one of the country's top five television distributors that isn't carrying the channel. "We won't be satisfied until we get DIRECTV, but right now they've dug their heels in. They won't take it on the same terms that everyone else is taking it. I don't see any movement at the moment, (but) what I do know is we've got great content."

Scott believes DIRECTV is feeling the anger of Pac-12 fans that can't access the network.

"I'm hearing loudly from fans how badly they want it. I'm sure DIRECTV is hearing it, and I'm sure we've got fans switching when their contracts come up," he said. "They've gotta be feeling that, so I'm very confident long-term we'll get it, and we'll do everything that we can."

Wednesday, March 6, 2013 @ 8:57pm

Washington State upsets No. 23 UCLA 73-61

PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) - No. 23 UCLA rolled into Pullman on Wednesday night as the hottest team in the Pac-12, and the Bruins hadn't lost here since 1993.

They rolled out of town as 73-61 losers to last-place Washington State, a defeat that seriously damaged the Bruins' hopes of winning the conference title.

"The lesson learned is that anybody can beat anybody on a given night," UCLA coach Ben Howland said. "We talk about that all the time.

"We are not dominant enough to just show up ready to roll, and that is my responsibility and obviously I failed tonight," he said.

Washington State was battling the loss of two key players. But the Cougars got 20 points and 11 rebounds from Brock Motum to break the 19-game home losing streak to the Bruins.

Royce Woolridge added 19 points for Washington State (12-18, 3-14 Pac-12), which also broke a nine-game losing streak that had put coach Ken Bone on the hot seat.

"It's nice to see these guys rewarded with a win," said Bone, whose team has repeatedly lost games in the second half this season. "It's a huge confidence builder."

Jordan Adams scored 18 points for UCLA (22-8, 12-5), which had won four straight games and came into Wednesday tied with Oregon for first place in the Pac-12.

"We didn't come out with the emotion and intensity that we needed," Howland said. "We didn't have the sense of urgency when so much was riding on the line for us."

Shabazz Muhammad added 14 points for UCLA on 4-of-19 shooting.

Washington State had lost its last eight games against the Bruins, who were coming off a win over No. 18 Arizona.

"This is the first time in 19 years we beat them here," Motum said. "I was happy individually to have beaten UCLA for the first time."

Washington State played without Mike Ladd (knee injury) and DaVonte Lacy (knee injury), their second- and third-leading scorers. Bone said Lacy is out for the rest of the season.

It didn't seem to matter, as the Cougars sliced up the Bruins inside for easy layups much of the game.

"We set good screens," Motum said. "Our guys were wide open for baskets."

Washington State, which jumped to a big early lead and never trailed, held the Bruins 15 points below their scoring average, and outrebounded them 46-23. The Bruins shot just 38 percent in the game, compared to 49 percent for WSU.

"For us to have 21 offensive rebounds and them to have 23 total rebounds, that was very impressive," Bone said.

"We showed we can compete with anyone," said WSU's Dexter Kernich-Drew, who had 11 points and 11 rebounds in a rare start because of the injuries.

The Bruins, who also got 10 points from Norman Powell, were outscored 44-20 in the paint, and were 8 of 29 from 3-point range.

"We came out defensively very poor," Howland said. "I did not have my guys ready to play or fearful enough of losing this game.

"They kept getting layups and easy shots," Howland said. "At the other end, we missed some shots early in the game, in the first half, and it snowballed."

Washington State scored the first seven points of the game, and then made four straight layups to build a 15-2 lead. The Bruins made only one of their first 10 shots.

The Bruins did not score their second field goal until there was 10:26 left in the first half and they trailed 19-4.

Washington State extended the lead to 25-4 with 8:28 left. The Cougars made 10 of their first 18 shots.

Muhammad made a 3-pointer to get the Bruins into double figures at 25-12, but Woolridge replied with a 3 for WSU.

Adams scored the last five points of the first half for the Bruins, on two free throws and a 3-pointer, but Washington State led 35-24. The Cougars shot 48 percent in the first while holding UCLA to 30 percent.

Muhammad's 3-pointer cut WSU's lead to 37-31 early in the second. D.J. Shelton scored three straight baskets for WSU to push the lead back to 43-33.

Layups by Woolridge and Motum gave WSU a 56-42 lead with 7 minutes left.

Two 3-pointers helped the Bruins cut WSU's lead to 60-52, but the Cougars made their free throws to stay ahead.

"I thought our guys were good with their composure," Bone said.

D.J. Shelton added 13 points and four assists for the Cougars.

UCLA averages 76 points per game to lead the Pac-12.

The Bruins hold a 102-15 lead in the all-time series.

Sunday, March 3, 2013 @ 3:26pm

Huskies pull away from Cougars for 72-68 victory

SEATTLE (AP) - During its last road trip, Washington coach Lorenzo Romar pulled aside Scott Suggs for a chat about making certain he was playing with the right.

Romar's message was simple: play with more intensity and focus on getting involved defensively and the scoring will take care of itself.

Suggs' response the past two games is exactly what Romar hoped to see and is giving Washington a bit of optimism that they may just be able to get on somewhat of a roll before the Pac-12 tournament.

"Whatever was the case, he's doing a much better job of it," Romar said.

Suggs hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 4 minutes remaining and finished with 23 points, and Washington beat rival Washington State 72-68 on Sunday, handing the Cougars their ninth straight loss.

Suggs' 3 from the top of the key snapped a 57-all tie. It was his fifth 3-pointer, tying his career high, and he added four more free throws as the Huskies (16-13, 8-8 Pac-12) pulled away in the final minutes. Washington won consecutive games for the first time since early January when the Huskies started conference play 4-0 before losing eight of nine, and won their fifth straight over the Cougars.

C.J. Wilcox also scored 23 for Washington, the first time this season the Huskies had two players top the 20-point mark in the same game. Suggs has 39 points in the past two games including 16 last week in a win at Arizona State.

"We just talked about playing with more intensity. That was the biggest thing," Suggs said. "Sometimes it might not look like I'm trying, but I'm trying always. I'm just trying that much harder I guess, trying to make a play aggressively."

Brock Motum and Royce Woolridge led Washington State (11-18, 2-14) with 18 points each, but the Cougars' worst slide since the 2002-03 season continued. D.J. Shelton added 11 points and DaVonte Lacy had 10 for the Cougars, who shot 51 percent but couldn't make up for 18 turnovers, many of them unforced.

"Most of it was just taking care of the ball. It was frustrating because usually we take care of the ball better than that," Washington State coach Ken Bone said. "If that was how we played all the time, we would just say that's who we are, but we don't average 18 turnovers per game.

Washington State started the second half on an 11-1 run, including a five-point possession after Aziz N'Diaye was called for a flagrant foul, Motum hit two free throws and Dexter Kernich-Drew knocked down a 3 to give the Cougars their biggest lead at 43-35. It didn't last long with Washington scoring the next six points and nipping at the Cougars the rest of the half. Twice the Huskies pulled within one – 47-46 and 49-48 – and finally got even when Desmond Simmons knocked down a 17-footer as the shot clock expired with 7 minutes left to tie the game at 53.

Woolridge split a pair of free throws and Gaddy hit a floater in the lane to give Washington its first lead since halftime. The Cougars followed with an unforced turnover and Wilcox's two free throws pushed the lead to three, only to see Motum's free throw and driving basket tie the game at 57.

Suggs, who had not scored in nearly 10 minutes, found himself open at the top of the key and knocked down his fifth 3-pointer for a 60-57 lead. Suggs and Wilcox combined to hit 5 of 6 free throws over the next two minutes before Woolridge's driving basket with 2:09 left cut the Cougars deficit to six. Motum's two free throws cut the Huskies lead to 66-61, but Wilcox's driving basket and two free throws with 39 seconds left cinched the victory.

Washington scored 10 of its final 12 points at the foul line.

"We're definitely frustrated," Woolridge said. "We came out and we played well at the beginning. If you take some of the turnovers away I feel like it would have been a lot different of a game."

Motum led the Cougars in scoring, but was held in check for most of the first half. He scored the first five points for Washington State and instantly that caused the Huskies to change. Out went Shawn Kemp Jr. and in came Simmons, who was matched up almost exclusively with Motum the rest of the half. Simmons held Motum to 15 points in the first meeting back in January after he had average nearly 23 points in the Cougars previous seven games.

Once Simmons entered, Motum disappeared and went scoreless until getting free for a layup with less than a minute left in the half. Motum played all 40 minutes and finished 6 of 10 shooting.

"They said to be ready early," Simmons said. "When someone like Brock gets going early, it's hard to shut him down."

Thursday, February 28, 2013 @ 10:47am

Ex-Coug Marquess Wilson deserves a second chance

By Jim Moore

Last weekend I watched the combine and rooted for Marquess Wilson to do well. I wanted him to run a fast 40-yard dash and catch every pass that was thrown to him.

My 8-year-olds were excited, racing up the stairs to ask: "Dad, did you see Marquess!"

But then it occurred to me that there might be a fair share of Cougs who weren't rooting for Washington State's all-time leading receiver. They're upset with him for quitting in November, three games before the end of the season, and citing verbal, mental and physical abuse by Mike Leach and his coaching staff.

That led to investigations by the WSU athletic department and the Pac-12, both of which cleared the staff of any wrongdoing.

I threw it out there on Facebook and got a mostly negative reaction to Wilson.

Enrique said: "Good luck, but I don't support him. No heart. If he thinks Leach was tough, then he won't last long if at all in the NFL."

From Dennis: "Hope he struggles. He let his ego dictate his actions."

From Gordie: "I would not waste a draft choice on that quitter."

From Joel: "He might as well be a dirty Husky for all I care. Lazy quitter."

From Jason: "I don't consider anyone who quits to be a Coug."

From Riley: "I hope he does terrible and doesn't get drafted."

From Doug: "Not a true Coug."

But there were a few Marquess supporters.

From Stephen: "He's just a kid. We all did dumb stuff when we were his age. He's going to pay for it when he falls in the draft, but I hope he has a successful career and represents WSU for life."

From Roy: "Still has a lot of work to do, but I'm hoping someone gives him a chance. Whether he likes it or not, when he makes the winning Super Bowl catch for the Seahawks, they'll always say he's from WSU."

From Michael: "Everyone makes mistakes. No need to crucify him for one of his."

There are a lot of factors that influence how you feel about Wilson:

• Some of it depends on how you feel about Leach. If you're 100 percent supportive of the new head coach, then what Wilson did is inexcusable.

• I wish I knew if he were a lazy prima-donna or a terrific kid. I've heard that he's both, from different camps, over and over again. Which is the truth?

• If you believe that everyone deserves a second chance, especially a youngster at his age, you're more apt to support Wilson.

• Do you feel like he quit the team or quit on the team? There's a difference. I feel like he quit on the staff, not his teammates, though I can see how others wouldn't look at it like that.

No matter how you feel, he should have stuck it out for his own good. He didn't need to subject himself to questions about his toughness at the combine. If he had hung through the end of the season, he probably would've been drafted in the middle rounds. Now? He might not get drafted at all.

As I said before, I'm pulling for him. He's a kid who screwed up. He gets a second chance in my book. I prefer to think of him hauling in that game-winning touchdown pass at Colorado two years ago instead of picturing him on his way out of Pullman on terrible terms.

Why do I feel that way? I'm not entirely sure. But I won't take the time to try to figure it out – I'm just going to wish him well and hope that the Seahawks get a steal when they select Wilson with one of their three picks in the seventh round.

The Go 2 Guy also writes for his website, www.jimmoorethego2guy.com; www.seattlepi.com; and www.kitsapsun.com. You can reach Jim at jimmoorethego2guy@yahoo.com and follow him on Twitter @cougsgo.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013 @ 9:29pm

Arizona State downs Washington State 69-57

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) - A special chemistry between Carrick Felix and Jahii Carson has propelled Arizona State to a 20-win season.

They know they need more to make it to the NCAA tournament.

Felix had 23 points and 11 rebounds, Carson scored 21 and Arizona State beat Washington State 69-57 on Wednesday night.

"The thing about those two guys is they love to play," Sun Devils coach Herb Sendek said. "Guys who play with energy typically are guys who love to play. They're a little bit like basketball's version of Ernie Banks, they just love being out there."

Jordan Bachynski added 12 points and five blocked shots for the Sun Devils (20-7, 9-5 Pac-12), who reached 20 wins for the fourth time in Sendek's seven seasons at the school.

Brock Motum scored 17, Royce Woolridge 16 and DaVonte Lacy 15 for the last-place Cougars (11-16, 2-12) in their seventh loss in a row.

Arizona State finished the first half with a 14-3 run to lead 36-22 at the break and was up by as many as 21 before Washington State cut it to eight in the late going.

The Sun Devils, one of the worst free-throw shooting teams in the country this season, sealed the win with eight straight in the final 1:35.

Felix and Carson both grew up in the Phoenix area and played against each other as youngsters, despite the difference in their age. Now, with Felix a senior and Carson a freshman, they want to lead a stretch run that gets an Arizona State team that was picked in the preseason to finish last in the Pac-12 into the NCAA field.

"If we win all of our games, there's no question we're going to be in it," Carson said. "But if we slip up and we start losing a couple of games, close ones, that means we're on the bubble and there's a chance we won't go."

Arizona State plays its final home game Saturday against Washington, then is at UCLA, USC and Arizona before the Pac-12 tournament.

Wednesday's game turned in the final 5:49 of the first half. After Felix made one of two free throws to put Arizona State ahead 23-19, Carson brought the crowd to its feet when he drove from midcourt down the lane and soared for a dunk. On the Sun Devils' next possession, Carson found Evan Gordon open for a 3-pointer. Another 3, by Jonathan Gilling, capped a 9-0 spurt and made it 31-19 with 4:18 left in the half.

Motum's three-point play cut the lead to 31-22, but Gilling sank another 3 to boost the lead to 34-22 with 2:34 left, then Carson made both ends of a one-and-one with 7.6 seconds to play to make it a 14-point game at halftime.

Washington State shot 33 percent in the first half (9 for 27) and was 3 of 12 on 3s. Arizona State, on the other hand, shot 52 percent and made 5 of 12 3-pointers.

Felix scored the first five points of the second half to put the Sun Devils ahead 41-22.

Felix's 3 gave Arizona State its biggest lead, 49-28, with 12:15 to go, but the Cougars scored the next eight points to cut it to 49-36 on Lacy's 3-pointer with 9:47 to play. Carson's 3 boosted it to 56-40 with 7 1/2 minutes to go but the Cougars scored the next five, cutting it to 56-45 on another 3 by Lacy with 7:05 to go.

Woolridge's layup made it 61-53 with 2:24 to play, but Carson made both halves of a one-and-one to boost it back to 10. After Woolridge scored again inside, Gordon made two free throws to put Arizona State up 65-55 with 1:18 to play. Motum cut the lead to 65-57, but Felix made four straight free throws to end the game.

The Sun Devils had 18 assists in 23 baskets.

The Cougars were coming off a heart-wrenching overtime loss to Oregon. But they were playing from behind from almost the start in this one before falling to 1-7 on the road.

"They're trying hard, doing whatever they can," Washington State coach Ken Bone said, "fighting and scratching to get a win. We got beat by a better team tonight."

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Follow Bob Baum at http://www.twitter.com/Thebaumerphx