PULLMAN — Washington State’s Josh Hawkinson has turned into a double-double machine.
The junior had 20 points and 10 rebounds, his ninth consecutive double-double, and Washington State beat No. 25 UCLA 85-78 on Sunday night.
It was his 11th double-double of the season and 31st of his career. The 6-foot-10 forward added four blocked shots and three assists.
“He’s comfortable with anyone on the floor, I think,” Washington State coach Ernie Kent said.
The Cougars went with a smaller lineup to add some speed against the Bruins.
“We wanted to create tempo and pace and we wanted it to be fast,” Kent said. “We are better that way.”
“I thought that was a very, very good effort we put together against a very good basketball team,” Kent said, “playing smart, playing heady and playing tough defensively.”
Que Johnson and Renard Suggs each scored 14 points for Washington State (9-5, 1-1 Pac-12), while Charles Callison had 12, and Conor Clifford 10. The Cougars lost to Southern California in the conference opener Friday night.
Isaac Hamilton scored 27 points for UCLA (9-6, 0-2), which was coming off a double-overtime loss at Washington. UCLA’s Bryce Alford, coming off a 30-point performance at Washington, was held to nine points.
The Bruins got 13 points and 10 rebounds from Thomas Welsh.
“I don’t think we played our roles well at all today,” UCLA coach Steve Alford said. “That’s everybody from top to bottom.”
“This is not the way we want to start the league and now it becomes a very long, tough road,” Alford said. “Bad road trip for us.”
Washington State shot 60 percent in the second half and 55 percent in the game, while holding the Bruins to 41 percent.
Tony Parker’s basket for UCLA tied the score at 40-40 early in the second half. But Washington State went on an 11-5 run to take a 51-45 lead.
Suggs completed a three-point play to run the Washington State lead to 61-51 with just under 11 minutes left.
A pair of 3-pointers by Johnson lifted the Cougars to a 67-55 lead with nine minutes left.
The Cougars made 13 of their first 17 shots in the second half, while the Bruins were making just 8 of 22 in that stretch.
Hawkinson hit a pair of basket to maintain the Washington State lead at 77-65 with 3:51 left.
Hamilton’s 3-pointer for UCLA cut the Washington State lead to 78-72.
But the Cougars hit four straight free throws to push the lead back to 10 points with 43 seconds left, and the Bruins were forced to foul.
Washington State led 40-36 at halftime.
Washington State took a 12-7 lead on Charles Callison’s 3-pointer. But Hamilton, who scored 14 points in the first half, tied it at 12 with a 3-pointer. From there the teams traded baskets.
Derrien King hit a 3-pointer and then a layup to lift Washington State to a 21-18 lead.
Hawkinson hit a 3-pointer and Ny Redding hit a pair of free throws to put the Cougars ahead 37-31.
LOP-SIDED SERIES
UCLA leads the series 103-17, but Washington State has won three straight at home.
TIP-INS
UCLA: All five UCLA starters average in double figures in scoring. … Alford leads the Bruins with 17.4 ppg. … Parker averages a double-double. … The Bruins played four teams during the preseason that were ranked in the Top 20, upsetting then-No. 1 Kentucky.
Washington State: Washington State came in shooting 48.6 from the field. … The Cougars average 5.8 blocks … Hawkinson has eight consecutive double-doubles.
UP NEXT
UCLA hosts No. 8 Arizona on Thursday night.
Washington State hosts Washington on Saturday night.
