PULLMAN — Oscar Cluff scored 20 points off the bench, Andrej Jakimovski had all 15 of his points in the second half and Washington State defeated Oregon State 65-58 on Thursday night.
The Cougars were red-hot after trailing 24-21 at the half, hitting 5 of 7 3-pointers and shooting 70% overall (14 of 20) and made 11 of 14 free throws.
Cluff, a junior college transfer, was 8-of-11 shooting and had eight rebounds for his best game with the Cougars (10-4, 1-2 Pac-12 Conference). Jakimovski went 4 of 4 behind the arc in the second half. Myles Rice added 12 points and reserve Jaylen Wells added 11.
Jordan Pope scored 20 points to lead the Beavers (9-5, 1-2), who were playing their first true road game. KC Ibekwe had 12 points.
Wells drilled a 3-pointer to put WSU on top 60-53 with 1:34 to play. Christian Wright quickly countered for the Beavers but Wells then converted a three-point play with 32.4 seconds left that made it 63-56. Jakimovski iced it with two free throws with 7.4 remaining after a Beaver miss.
The Beavers never trailed in the first half and were up 16-6 after Wright drilled a 3-pointer but the Cougars came back with an 11-2 run to get within 18-17 after a three-point play by Cluff.
The score was 24-21 at the half.
Oregon State shot 31% (10-of-32) with two 3-pointers while the Cougars made 5 of 20 shots, missing all seven of their 3s. However, WSU made 11 of 13 from the foul line to 2 of 2 for the Beavers.
Cluff scored Washington State’s first nine points of the second half with his fast break dunk giving the Cougars their first lead at 30-28. After Pope hit a 3-pointer for the Beavers, Jakimovski did the same for the Cougs and they never trailed again.
Jakimovski hit consecutive treys and after an OSU free throw Wells was fouled on a 3 and his free throws gave Washington State a 49-38 lead with 9:12 to play. Ibekwe then scored the next nine points to bring the Beavers back within 49-47 with 5:20 to go.
UP NEXT
Oregon State goes across state to play Washington on Saturday at Seattle while Oregon comes to Pullman to play WSU.
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WASHINGTON STATE 65, OREGON STATE 58
OREGON ST. (9-5) — Bilodeau 1-6 2-2 4, Rataj 2-9 2-2 6, Ibekwe 5-8 2-3 12, Pope 8-16 2-2 20, Wright 2-6 2-2 8, Lake 0-2 0-0 0, Marial 0-5 0-0 0, Ndong 2-5 0-0 4, Stevens 1-1 0-0 2, Craig 0-2 0-0 0, Marrs 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 22-61 10-11 58.
WASHINGTON ST. (10-4) — Jakimovski 4-8 3-5 15, Jones 0-3 1-3 1, Chinyelu 2-3 0-0 4, Houinsou 0-0 2-2 2, Rice 3-7 6-6 12, Cluff 8-11 4-5 20, Wells 2-5 6-6 11, Mullins 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 19-40 22-27 65.
Halftime—Oregon St. 24-21. 3-Point Goals—Oregon St. 4-13 (Pope 2-5, Wright 2-6, Craig 0-1, Marial 0-1), Washington St. 5-14 (Jakimovski 4-8, Wells 1-2, Jones 0-1, Rice 0-1, Mullins 0-2). Rebounds—Oregon St. 27 (Ibekwe 8), Washington St. 30 (Cluff 8). Assists—Oregon St. 5 (Pope 2), Washington St. 13 (Houinsou, Rice 4). Total Fouls—Oregon St. 19, Washington St. 11. A—2,524 (11,671).
