Washington State rallies past Drake in Round 1 of the men's basketball NCAA tournament
Mar. 22—OMAHA, Neb. — Isaac Jones was relentless in the paint, Isaiah Watts hit the shot of his life off the bench and the Washington State men's basketball team will continue dancing in March Madness.
The seventh-seeded Cougars rallied from eight points down in the second half to defeat 10th-seeded Drake 66-61 in the first round of the NCAA tournament Thursday night at the CHI Health Center Arena in Omaha, Neb.
WSU (25-9) advances to face No. 2 seed Iowa State (28-7) in the Round of 32 at 3:10 p.m. Pacific on Saturday (TNT) at the same site.
"Drake's probably the toughest team we've played," WSU coach Kyle Smith said in a TV interview moments after the final buzzer sounded. "They're just so physical and tough and we just made plays when we needed to."
Jones earned the Cougars' first double-double in NCAA tourney history with 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead WSU to its first victory in March Madness in 16 years.
The 6-foot-9 senior willed his way under the basket to rebound after rebound and layup after layup. When a shot didn't fall, he was often fouled and sent to the free-throw line, where he made 8-of-10 attempts.
But it was Watts, a reserve freshman guard who has risen up at points late in the season, who hit the biggest shot of the game for the Cougs.
After WSU trailed by its largest deficit of the game, down 54-46 with 7:33 to go, the Cougs rattled off a 7-0 run to get back within striking distance of the hot-shooting Bulldogs (28-7).
Moments later, Watts sank a 3-pointer from the right wing for a 61-59 Cougars' lead with 1:51 to go, their first since two minutes into the second half.
"Just grit and determination," Watts told reporters in the postgame locker room as yells and cheers echoed off the walls around him. "We were prepared and we just executed. That's really all it was. Our coaches did a great job with the scout, I got great teammates and we just pulled it out."
Following the big 3, the Bulldogs turned the ball over four times down the stretch and Watts and teammate Andrej Jakimovski closed the game out at the free-throw line.
"It's March, you see it all the time," Watts said. "People always come back from down in March so we just had to handle our business and that's exactly what we did."
Stars of the game
Drake star Tucker DeVries, a two-time player of the year in the Missouri Valley Conference, was held to just 14 points as the Cougar defenders stuck to him like glue all night. He averages nearly 22 points per contest.
"Andrej did an awesome job on DeVries," Smith said. "Just made him earn it. He's going to get some but just wore him down I thought."
Atin Wright stepped up and led the Bulldogs with 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting.
For WSU, different players shined at different moments when called upon.
Junior forward Jaylen Wells had 17 points, including a pair of big 3-pointers in the first half, and nine rebounds.
Freshman point guard Myles Rice and Jakimovski each had nine points, and Rice dished a halfcourt pass to Jones for an alley-oop in the first half on what was easily the flashiest play of the game.
Jones was methodical, unstoppable and poised in the paint on his way to his game-high scoring and rebounding numbers.
"No one can guard Isaac out there," Smith said.
Key moments
Drake was able to speed up the game in a back-and-forth first half against a WSU team that usually likes a slower pace, but the Cougs led 33-29 at halftime after overcoming a 12-0 run by the Bulldogs.
A Wells triple from well beyond NBA range and a Jones hook shot were the final points of the first period.
The Bulldogs took the lead barely a minute into the second period and stretched it to eight points on a snazzy midrange jumper by Wright after he executed a crossover on Watts with 7:33 to go.
A pair of Wells free throws ended a three-minute scoring drought for the Cougs and kickstarted a 7-0 to cut it back to 54-53 with 5:15 to go.
WSU stayed within striking distance until Watts hit his big 3-pointer to give the Cougars their final lead.
Up next
The Cougars and Cyclones will battle Saturday afternoon for a chance to advance to the Sweet 16. Iowa State will be trying for its first trip to the Sweet 16 since 2022, while the Cougars last made that round of the NCAA tournament in 2008.
"It's awesome," Smith said. "I'm happy for those guys; they've worked so hard all year."