UC Santa Barbara 71, Washington State 43: Zalmico Harmon had 17 points as the Gauchos took a 22-point halftime lead on the way to a rout of the Cougars in the first round of the Great Alaskan Shootout.
It was 16 degrees in Anchorage and Washington State (1-3) was just as cold inside the Alaska Airlines Center by shooting 9.1 percent from the field in the first half - including 0-of-14 from 3-point range - and 22.8 percent for the game. Washington State will play Rice in Friday's consolation bracket.
Brett Boese had 13 points - all in the second half - and Junior Longrus scored nine for the Cougars while Josh Hawkinson had 13 rebounds and Ny Redding added six assists off the bench. Alan Williams had 12 points and 12 rebounds while reserve John Green chipped in 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting for UC Santa Barbara (2-2).
The Cougars scored 31 points in the second half but never recovered from the disastrous start. Washington State was 4-of-21 - and 1-of-13 to start - from 3-point range, while Santa Barbara was 8-of-17. The only place the Cougars finished ahead of the Gauchos was at the free-throw line, where they were 13-of-18 compared to 7-of-10 for the Gauchos.
Longrus scored on a layup 2:30 into the game for a 2-2 tie and that was the last time the Cougars would be that close as the Gauchos went on an 11-1 run before Railey made a hook shot with 11:33 remaining. Longrus’ dunk at 7:53 made it 20-9 and that was the last Washington State field goal of the half as they trailed 34-12 at intermission.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Cougars didn’t reach 10 points until the 6:00 mark on Hawkinson’s free throw. … Washington State had just three baskets in the first half – two by Longrus (2-of-2) and one from Railey (1-of-4).
Washington St. | UC Santa Barbara | |
Brett Boese 13 | Scoring | Zalmico Harmon 17 |
Ny Redding 6 | Assists | Eric Childress 6 |
Josh Hawkinson 13 | Rebounds | Alan Williams 12 |
Ny Redding 4 | Free Throws Made | Alan Williams 4 |
Ny Redding 2 | Steals | Eric Childress 1 |
Jordan Railey 2 | Blocks | Sam Beeler 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Washington St. | 43 | 22.8 | 4-21 | 13-18 | 10 | 28 | 3 | 4 | 9 |
UC Santa Barbara | 71 | 47.5 | 8-17 | 7-10 | 22 | 41 | 4 | 5 | 10 |