Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports
Isaac Jones recorded 20 points and 11 rebounds and Isaiah Watts made the go-ahead shot to help Washington State post a 66-61 victory over Drake in an East Region first-round contest on Thursday night at Omaha, Neb.
Jaylen Wells added 17 points and nine rebounds as the seventh-seeded Cougars (25-9) won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time since 2008.
Atin Wright scored 20 points for the 10th-seeded Bulldogs (28-7). Tucker DeVries had 14 points and six assists and Darnell Brodie contributed 13 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots.
The Cougars face No. 2 seed Iowa State in Saturday’s second round.
Watts drained a 3-pointer with 1:51 left to give the Cougars a 61-59 lead. Watts added two free throws to make it a four-point margin with 34.8 seconds remaining.
Andrej Jakimovski made 3 of 4 free throws down the stretch as Washington State held on.
The Cougars shot 38.2 percent from the field, including 7 of 14 from 3-point range.
The Bulldogs made 42.4 percent of their shots and were 5 of 15 from behind the arc.
Drake led by one point eight minutes into the second half before it increased its lead to eight with a 9-2 run.
Brodie made two free throws and Wright hit a jumper to account for a 54-46 lead with 7:47 left in the game.
But Washington State answered with a 9-1 run with Wells hitting two free throws, Jakimovski draining a 3-pointer and Jones adding a basket to bring the Cougars within one with 5:15 remaining.
After Wright split two free throws for Drake, Jones made two free throws for Washington State to tie it at 55 with 4:28 remaining.
Kevin Overton followed with a 3-pointer to push the Bulldogs back ahead with 4:14 remaining before the Cougars closed strong.
Jones scored nine first-half points as Washington State led 33-29 at the break. DeVries and Wright tallied nine apiece in the half for Drake.
Overton and DeVries both hit treys during a 9-0 run that gave the Bulldogs a 19-15 lead with 9:41 left in the half. The Cougars answered with a 13-4 burst and Jones scored the final four points to give Washington State a 28-23 edge with 3:34 remaining.
DeVries’ layup pulled Drake within 31-29 with 33 seconds left before Jones made the final basket of the half.
–Field Level Media