WSU can't complete comeback in 74-67 loss to Colorado, capping winless start to Pac-12 play

Dec. 31—Oscar Cluff doesn't have the body type that screams midrange specialist. The best thing he provides for Washington State is his 6-foot-11 size, which unlocks his ability to defend, grab offensive rebounds and stick them back.

Except he's starting to broaden his horizons. In WSU's 74-67 loss to Colorado on Sunday afternoon, he knocked down two straight midrange jumpers in the second half, spurring the Cougars' rally, a valiant effort that signaled some of their best players are developing their games.

But that's about where Washington State's comeback attempt ended. The Cougs drew within two on a few occasions in the second half, including on a triple from Andrej Jakimovski with around three minutes left, but they lost their second straight to open Pac-12 play because they couldn't sustain things on offense — or stop fouling.

"We turned it over a few times down the stretch. We needed to get shots," WSU coach Kyle Smith said. "But our guys played really hard. It was hard to overcome the fouls, and we've been working on defending without fouling, but didn't do a good enough job."

For the second straight game, WSU (9-4, 0-2 Pac-12) went cold on offense at the wrong time, suffering a dry spell in the second half that allowed Colorado to keep the Cougs at arm's length. Washington State did improve on offense — Jakimovski emerged from a slump for 19 points, Isaac Jones totaled 16 points on 7-for-7 shooting and Cluff finished with a key 16 points — but it wasn't enough.

To their credit, the Cougs did hang around deep into the second half. Shortly after Jakimovski knocked down that wing 3, guard Myles Rice drove and earned a trip to the foul line, where he knocked down two freebies to draw within one, 65-64, with 3 1/2 minutes to go.

The visitors couldn't claw much closer because they couldn't secure key stops. Colorado guard KJ Simpson, who registered a game-best 34 points, drove past Jones and floated one home, pushing his team's lead to three. Then he knocked down two free throws. Seconds later, Colorado's J'Vonne Hadley canned a triple, a dagger that all but wrapped the game up.

The problem for the Cougs is that they turned the ball over between all those Colorado baskets. WSU lost three turnovers in the final three minutes, two by Rice and by Jakimovski, all on bad passes that the Buffaloes snatched up. For the game, Washington State coughed up 13 turnovers, which Colorado parlayed into 22 points.

These are mistakes the Cougs cannot afford, not with the lack of firepower they've shown this weekend, including their 80-58 setback to Utah on Friday.

In both contests, Rice couldn't get going, combining for 15 points on 22 shots, going 0 for 6 from beyond the arc and committing six turnovers. He's a redshirt freshman but WSU has shown a real inability to score when their best perimeter player is stuck in mud.

For WSU, the most encouraging part of this one may involve Jakimovski's outing. Coming in, he had made just 6 of his past 26 triples, good for a dreary 23%. He even seemed to acknowledge the slump with his play, turning his attention to defense and rebounding, and he began driving to the basket more.

With his showing Sunday, though, he reminded the conference what he's capable of. At one point in the first half, he buried three straight 3-pointers, all catch-and-shoot looks that he's best at. He made four in total on Sunday. The more he makes those, the more he provides space for his post players, the guys the Cougs would prefer to play through anyway.

It also amounted to another strong showing from Jones, who has now scored in double figures in eight straight games. He is now WSU's leading scorer with 15.3 points, over Rice's 14.8. In these first two Pac-12 games, he hasn't been able to dominate on the block like he did against overmatched nonconference opponents, but in Sunday's game, he slowed the game down and improved his shot selection, which is why he went perfect from the field.

"We need to get him the ball even more," Smith said of Jones, who added eight rebounds, making it three of four games he's hit that total or more.

Another interesting development from this game: Smith called on reserve guard Isaac Watts, a true freshman, for nine minutes. In his first meaningful action in nearly a month, Watts missed both the 3-pointers he tried and got tagged for two fouls, including a technical on a double-technical sequence late in the second half. He got the nod over veteran guard Jabe Mullins, who went scoreless in six minutes.

"He wasn't scared," Smith said of Watts. "He gave us some quickness. He got some rebounds. He did a pretty job keeping Simpson in front. He hit a tough shot over him. I think that (comes) with a little maturity."

Washington State returns to action on Thursday, hosting Oregon State at 8 p.m.