Hot Cougar Action: The day after Buffalo

Men's basketball

It may not have been pretty, but WSU pulled out another win on Friday. While at the end of the season a win is a win, playing close games against teams like Jackson State and Buffalo is probably not the greatest sign as Pac-12 play approaches. I'm trying to convince myself that this team simply plays to the level of their competition and will raise their level of play against better teams like they did against Gonzaga. We can only hope.

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Lacy scores 19 as WSU scraps past Buffalo in Seattle - Spokesman.com - Dec. 22, 2012
SEATTLE – Forget the name on the front of their jerseys, their lack of TV appearances, their conference affiliation.

Tale of the tape: WSU 65, Buffalo 54 - SportsLink - Spokesman.com - Dec. 21, 2012
FROM SEATTLE — Not sure if Washington State has played two halves as differently as it did in tonight's 65-54 win over Buffalo at KeyArena. But when the result is a victory, nobody really cares. We recap the good, the bad and the ugly in our tale of the tape. Read on.

Postgame Notes vs. Buffalo - The Washington State University Official Athletic Site
POSTGAME NOTES Buffalo vs. Washington State - Dec. 21, 2012 - KeyArena (Seattle, Wash.) Cougar Hardwood Classic

Quotes: Bone, Lacy, Motum - SportsLink - Spokesman.com - Dec. 22, 2012
FROM SEATTLE — We have some quotes to pass along after WSU's 65-54 win over Buffalo at KeyArena on Friday night. Read on.

Conference Power Rankings: Pac-12 - Men's College Basketball Nation Blog - ESPN
11. Washington State. The Cougars have won five of their past six games. Brock Motum (20.4 points) and DaVonte Lacy (10.1) form a nice 1-2 punch. Going .500 in Pac-12 play might be enough to save Ken Bone's job.

Washington State sneaks by Buffalo 65-54 | Local News | The Seattle Times

DaVonte Lacy scored 19 points, Brock Motum added 15 and Washington State used a big second half run to escape with a 65-54 victory over Buffalo on Friday night

Cougars pull away in 2nd half for victory | Cougar Basketball | The Seattle Times

Frustrated for much of the night by a double-teaming Buffalo defense, Brock Motum came alive just when Washington State needed him most, and WSU survived a stiff challenge by the Bulls, 65-54, Friday night in the Cougar Hardwood Classic at KeyArena.

Football

WSU signed five players this week and now you can get to know more about one of them. The Times-Herald from Vallejo, Calif. profiled recent WSU signee Lyman Faoliu.

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Vallejo High grad Lyman Faoliu signs with Washington State - Vallejo Times Herald
Lyman Faoliu made sure Vallejo High has a representative in the Pac-12 next season after signing a letter of intent to play football at Washington State.

Non-bowl primer: Washington State - Pac-12 Blog - ESPN
What went wrong this season? Believe it or not, it was the offense. If you go back and look at some of the fall scrimmages and spring games, the offense was putting up huge numbers.

Women's basketball

After a disappointing loss to Louisville, the WSU women's team had a better showing at Syracuse, but still wasn't able to come away with the victory. It was a tough task as Syracuse appears to have a very good team this season and have now won 52 straight non-conference home games.

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Syracuse University Athletics - Orange Downs WSU, Goes to 11-1
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Syracuse women's basketball team extended its non-conference home winning streak to 52 games with a 64-51 triumph against Washington State (3-7). Senior Kayla Alexander led the Orange (11-1) offense with 18 points, while fellow senior Elashier Hall notched 13 points.

Washington State Drops Road Contest To Syracuse, 64-51 - The Washington State University Official Athletic Site
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Freshman guard Lia Galdeira scored 16 points and sophomore guard Tia Presley added 14 for Washington State University who dropped a 64-51 decision to Syracuse University at the Carrier Dome Friday.