Isaac Jones scored a season-high 27 points on 11-of-15 shooting, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked three shots to lead Washington State to a 71-61 nonconference victory against Portland State on Saturday afternoon in Pullman, Wash.
Myles Rice added 19 points for the Cougars (6-1), who held Portland State (6-2) to one field goal in the final 7:40.
KJ Allen and Isaiah Johnson scored 11 points each for the Vikings and Jorell Saterfield and Ismail Habib added 10 points apiece.
Despite shooting just 30.9 percent from the field (21 of 68), Portland State stayed in the game by committing just seven turnovers. The Vikings forced WSU into 13 turnovers, and outscored the hosts 13-2 in points off turnovers.
In comparison, the Cougars shot 50.9 percent (28 of 55), had a 43-38 rebounding edge and a 10-0 advantage in blocked shots.
Rice’s driving layup with 11:33 remaining gave the Cougars a 49-48 lead. Jones followed with a line-drive 3-pointer, his first of the season, and WSU never trailed again.
A free throw by Johnson pulled the Vikings within 56-54 with seven minutes left before they went cold from the floor.
WSU led by as many as seven points in the first half before the Vikings closed with a 6-0 run to tie the score 31-31 at the intermission.
Jones led the Cougars with 13 points, six rebounds and two blocks in the half. WSU
shot 52.0 percent (13 of 25) but was just 1 of 5 from 3-point range.
Allen and Saterfield each scored eight points in the half for the Vikings, who shot 33 percent (12 of 36). Saterfield made a pair of 3-pointers.
The Cougars committed nine turnovers in the first half, leading to 11 PSU points.
–Field Level Media