Williams leads balanced attack as Washington St tops Weber

Dec 9, 2021, 05:29 am

PULLMAN, Wash. -- — Noah Williams scored 17 points, Mouhamed Gueye had his first double-double and Washington State handed Weber State its first loss of the season, 94-60 on Wednesday night.

The Cougars (7-2) put five players in double figures. Gueye had 14 points with 10 rebounds, TJ Bomba and DJ Rodman also had 14 points and Michael Flowers added 13 points and five assists.

Ty Roberts hit his only free throw for the Cougars, giving him 24 straight to start his career, matching Klay Thompson for the WSU record.

Rodman hit a 3-pointer to start a 10-0 run that gave the Cougars the lead for good 22-13. Andrej Jakimovski followed with a 3-pointer and Gueye got two buckets inside, including a dunk.

Weber State (8-1), one of 12 undefeated teams starting the day, scored seven-straight, pulling within 26-23 on Dillon Jones' three-point play at 3:01 but the Cougars closed the half with a 9-1 surge to go up 35-24.

The Wildcats scored the first basket of the second half but Washington State scored three straight baskets at the rim for a 41-26 lead and the Cougars were ahead by double figures the rest of the way.

Williams scored all the points in a 7-2 run that put the Cougars up 19. Weber State answered with eight consecutive points but Flowers and Bamba countered with 3s.

Rodman had consecutive 3-pointers — he had three triples in the final 4:09, for an 81-57 WSU lead. The Cougars outscored the Wildcats 19-3 over the final 4:09.

Washington State shot 72% (23 of 32) in the second half, going 9 of 12 from 3-point range. The Cougars finished 13 of 22 behind the arc and shot 58%.

Jones led the Wildcats, who were outrebounded 43-24, with 16 points and seven rebounds. Koby McEwen and JJ Overton added 12 points each and Seikou Sisoho Jawara 11.

This was the second meeting between the schools, the first a 62-52 Washington State win in the 1983 NCAA Tournament.

The Cougars play South Dakota State in Spokane on Saturday.

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