Jaylen Wells has 18 and 10 rebounds to help Washington St. beat UC Riverside 86-49

Dec 7, 2023, 05:37 am

PULLMAN, Wash. -- — Jaylen Wells scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Isaac Jones scored 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting and Washington State never trailed Wednesday night as the Cougars beat UC Riverside 86-49.

Washington State (6-1) has won six in a row since a 76-64 loss to Mississippi State at the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off on Nov. 18.

Jones hit two free throws to open the scoring, Wells hit a 3-pointer to make it 11-2 about 5 minutes in and eight different Cougars scored during a 23-0 run that made it 34-6 when Isaiah Watts made a 3 with 6:48 left in the first half. Nate Pickens made 1 of 2 free throws 19 seconds to end UC Riverside's scoring drought of nearly-8 minutes before Watts hit another 3-pointer to give Washington State a 30-point lead with 6:23 remaining before halftime.

Isaiah Moses made 7-of-7 from the free-throw line and led the Highlanders (4-6) with 17 points.

The Cougars made 35 of 71 from the field while limiting UC Riverside to 27% (14 of 15) shooting and outrebounded the Highlanders 48-28. Washington State had a 19-4 advantage in points-off-turnovers and was plus-11 (21-10) in second-chance points.

Oscar Cliff was 6-of-9 shooting and finished with 12 points, eight rebounds, two steals and a block for Washington State.

Washington State wraps up a string of five consecutive home games against Grambling on Sunday. UC Riverside is off until Dec. 16, when the Highlanders play host to Cal Baptist.

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