PULLMAN — Evergreen High grad Robert Franks scored 25 of his 34 points in the second half, breaking a program record for 3-pointers made in a single game, and Washington State cruised to a 78-53 win over California on Saturday.
Washington State (9-8, 1-4 Pac-12) finally got back in the win column after dropping its first four in conference play.
Franks’ shooting performance lifted the Cougars in the second half, hitting seven 3’s for 10 of 13 from long range.
He sparked a 13-1 run for WSU over the course of four minutes nailing a 3 to ignite the crowd and his teammates. The run opened up a 17-point lead in the second half for the Cougars and they never looked back.
“My emotions were high, you know I give a lot of praise to my teammates, they saw I was hot and they kept feeding me and they wanted me to shoot it,” said Franks. “So you know it just felt even more better, just seeing them that wanted me to break the record, so it was nice.”
Malachi Flynn added 14 points along with a solid performance from Drick Bernstine who played facilitator scoring 10 points with six rebounds and nine assists.
Kwinton Hinson provided a Cougar spark with seven points, seven rebounds and six assists in 26 minutes of play.
“Robert Franks and Malachi, it’s been a long time since the two of those guys have put a game together at the same time, and for robo to get into that type of groove for these guys to really look for him and help him get that record,” said WSU coach Ernie Kent. “No disrespect for Cal and I talked to coach about that, when you are that close you need to get that kind of a record.”
The loss for California (7-11, 1-4) was its fourth straight, punctuating an abysmal performance in the second half. The Bears were able to keep it close for most of the game, but lost control after several droughts and a huge WSU run.
Justice Sueing scored 14 points and grabbed 8 rebounds for Cal after scoring a career high 27 against UW. Juhwan Harris-Dyson added 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Don Coleman managed 10 points on 3-for-8 shooting. Coleman is the team’s leading scorer averaging 18 points per game on the year.
STAT OF THE NIGHT
Despite losing, California had an advantage on the offensive glass grabbing 19 offensive boards, to the Cougars three. Cal could not capitalize on those opportunities only managing seven second chance points.
BIG PICTURE
Washington State: The Cougars were able to get the first win in Pac-12 play after a record breaking performance from Franks, who had 10 3-pointers. This type of win should bring motivation to a struggling WSU team.
California: Cal has now dropped four consecutive games and will play a tough Arizona team who is up next on their schedule.
UP NEXT
Washington State will travel to play Colorado on Wednesday.
