Facing a respected program in an exhibition game to usher in the new season, the Washington State men's basketball team gave its fans an encouraging early glimpse.
The Cougars prevailed in a well-matched preseason competition, beating the Lobos 74-66 on Saturday night at Beasley Coliseum.
WSU, which led for about 23 minutes in all, fell behind by seven points midway through the second half, but rallied with a 10-0 run and preserved its lead for the rest of the game. New Mexico cut it to one point with 2 minutes to play, but a few WSU newcomers made clutch plays late to seal the win.
Forward Emmanuel Ugbo, a Boise State transfer, scored five points during a 7-0 WSU spurt to hold off a New Mexico charge, then made a steal with 48 seconds left, forcing the Lobos to foul. Cougar guard Jerone Morton, a Morehead State transfer, sunk six late free throws. Forward Eemeli Yalaho, a Texas Tech transfer, added a tip-in to spark WSU's run down the stretch.
Ugbo led all scorers with 16 points, adding seven rebounds. Morton had 12 points, shooting 10 of 13 from the foul line. Sophomore guard Tomas Thrastarson scored 13 points and forward ND Okafor, one of the team's few returners, had nine points and 14 rebounds as the Cougs outplayed a New Mexico team that has qualified for the NCAA Tournament in each of the past two seasons.
WSU shot 20 of 49 (40.8%) from the field and 5 of 22 from 3-point range. The Cougs committed 19 turnovers, but offset that with solid defense, holding New Mexico to 26.7% from the floor and 11 of 44 from deep. Guard Uriah Tenette and forward Antonio Chol led New Mexico with 11 points apiece.
As is common in exhibitions, WSU experimented with several lineup combinations and 10 players saw action. But WSU sent out a starting lineup of Thrastarson, Yalaho, Morton, Okafor and guard Adria Rodriguez, a senior newcomer from Spain.
The Lobos, under first-year coach Eric Olen, enter the season as the No. 97 team in the nation, according to KenPom.com's rankings. The Mountain West program was an at-large selection and a No. 10 seed for last season's NCAA Tournament, where it beat Marquette in the first round for its first NCAA tourney win in 13 years before falling to Michigan State. Coach Richard Pitino left for Xavier after the tournament.
The Cougs, under second-year coach David Riley, are ranked No. 137 by KenPom coming off a 19-15 season and an appearance in the new College Basketball Crown postseason tourney.