SEATTLE — Washington State and Washington won’t face each other during the men’s basketball regular season for the first time since 1917. On Sunday, the Cougars made their preseason meeting count.
WSU beat the Huskies 84-80 at Alaska Airlines Arena, bouncing back from a 28-point exhibition loss to New Mexico a week earlier.
Senior forward Ronnie Harrison led Washington State with 23 points and 11 rebounds, making 8 of 9 shots. He also came up with a block on LeJuan Watts’ 3-point attempt with six seconds remaining as Washington tried to close the gap.
The Cougars had to rally twice. They trailed by 10 midway through the first half before taking a 38-37 lead into the break. Washington went up by seven early in the second half, but a Casey Jones 3-pointer helped spark a 13-2 WSU run. With just over five minutes left, Harrison scored on a tip-in and a dunk on consecutive possessions to break a tie.
Lazerek Houston added 15 points for WSU, while Jamari Phillips scored 12, Jaylen Harrell had 11 and Jones finished with 10. Watts, a former Cougar, led Washington with 28 points.
Free throws played a major role: the teams combined to attempt 87. Both shot 22 of 56 from the field, but Washington State made nine 3-pointers to Washington’s six.
The result won’t count toward the standings, but it gives WSU’s rebuilt roster a rivalry win before the Cougars open the regular season at home against Davidson on Nov. 2.
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