In a result eerily similar to the first meeting, Washington State was unable to hold onto a double-digit second half lead losing to Washington 59-55.
While rebounds plagued WSU in the first matchup against the Huskies, free throws proved to be their downfall this time around. After going 11-12 from the stripe in the first half, the Cougars shot just 6-20 from the line in the second half. Think about that for a second, 6-for-20, that's good for 30 percent.
Shooting in general was an issue for WSU as they shot just 2-18 from three point range. A lot of people will point to the late miss by Patrick Simon, but no basketball team will win many games when they shoot .346/.111/.531. The only reason this game ended as close as it did was the Cougars strong rebounding effort. After getting out rebounded by 22 in the first matchup, WSU actually held a rebounding advantage this time. Unofficial stats have WSU with a 38-33 advantage on the glass. Official stats are in, WSU held a 42-35 advantage on the glass.
Still, this was a game WSU should have won. Up 13 with roughly 13 minutes to go, the Cougars went cold from the line and the floor allowing Washington to cut into the lead. The Huskies also started to narrow the rebounding gap winning the battle 17-12 in the second half.
Marcus Capers capped off his home playing career with another strong performance. Capers finished with 14 points, six rebounds and five assists. When he was first recruited, a lot of people compared him to Kyle Weaver. While he never developed to the level Weaver did, his performance tonight was very Weaveresque.
Abe Lodwick also went out with a fine performance, especially on the glass where he matched his career-high with nine rebounds. Lodwick fouled out late leaving everyone to wonder if it would have been him shooting the three at the end instead of Simon. That would have been one heck of a way to cap off senior day.
This one is going to sting for a while, but the Cougars will return to the court Thursday to face UCLA at 7:30 p.m.