Washington State falls to Georgetown to end their season
That’s a wrap on year one of David Riley’s tenure at Washington State, and my goodness, did it hurt. Tonight’s loss to the Georgetown Hoyas was nothing but a microcosm of the entire season.
The Cougs got out to a lead as they so often did this season, leading by 10 midway through the first half. The Hoyas had no answer for WSU’s size as they were down multiple players because of an illness that swept the team. LeJuan Watts, Ethan Price, and Dane Erkistrup were all efficient from two-point land as the Cougs dominated the points in the paint 44-26. Usually, that should be enough to win you a game, but enter Malik Mack of Georgetown. In the first half he had a personal 9-0 run to cut the WSU lead to one, but eventually the Cougs would stretch the lead out again and managed to hold it for what felt like the majority of the game.
But there was no answer for Mack, who finished with 37 on 8-12 shooting from three. Mack averaged 11 points per game and shot 32% from three during the regular season. WSU’s struggle to guard the perimeter is something we have seen a lot this season, as Lamar Washington of Pacific and both Malik Thomas and Ryan Beasley of San Francisco had similar performances against the Cougs this season. Not to mention Santa Clara’s three-point barrage on Beasley to end the season.
The Hoyas got out to a five-point lead, but WSU clawed back. Down one with less than 15 seconds left, David Riley appealed an out-of-bounds call that looked like it was off a Georgetown fingertip. The officials didn’t feel they had enough to overturn the call, and it remained Georgetown’s ball, and they subsequently got fouled. After making both free throws, the Hoyas intentionally fouled Washington State as they were up three. Watts missed the first free throw, which felt like the second time the Cougs had lost the game. After intentionally missing the second, ND Okafor managed to successfully kick it out to sharpshooter Rihards Vavers, who had a fantastic look at three to tie the game but was just off.
Washington State shot 50% from the floor, led the free throw advantage by nine, and still managed to lose the game. They allowed a staggering 18 offensive rebounds (which wouldn’t feel real if it weren’t for this team), gave up 16 points off turnovers, and only shot 5-20 from behind the arc. It really feels like they should have pulled this one out, as they did so many games this season. But they got torched by an opposing guard, didn’t box out, and let themselves get bit by a crappy call at the end of the game.
I have watched some truly awful WSU basketball teams in my life, and this team was not that. They had potential, they had talent, and it feels like the whole thing was snakebitten. After starting 13-3, they finished 19-15, which is 6-12 to finish the year for those counting at home. Even with all the injuries, it felt like they were going to stay afloat, but I am not sure if they ever recovered from Lamar Washington’s 40-ball in Beasley and buzzer beater in the corner. Had that shot not gone in, the story of this team may have been very different.
Now we await the word of LeJaun Watts, who was simply fantastic all season. He can certainly mature both on and off the court, but he is clearly a terrific talent. Replacing Dane and Ethan’s stretchability will be no easy task, but a core built around Watts with the likes of Thrastarson and Vavers with some portal additions has some promise.