Dawgs bite last: Cougs fall to UW in Pac-12 tourney

LAS VEGAS - A short-lived Pac-12 tournament for Washington State was summed up by the nine-game losing streak it endured through the month of February, rather than the two-game tear that preceded the conference tournament.

The third time was anything but the charm for the 11th-seeded Cougars, who came knocking on Washington's door late in the second half but that effort didn't last in a 64-62 first-round loss to the Huskies at the MGM Garden Arena on Wednesday.

Trailing by 19 points at the 14:29 mark in the second half, WSU outscored UW by a 27-10 margin during the next 12 minutes and knotted things up at 62-62, only to see its season crumble with a Brock Motum 3-point miss.

Face-guarded by multiple Husky defenders, and down 64-62, Motum attempted to draw contact, but the foul call was to no avail.

"I thought he reached in, and I shot a 3 and I thought I drew a foul. I heaved it up there trying to get three shots, the referees didn't call it and didn't see it," Motum said.

The loss was WSU's sixth straight to the Cougars' in-state rival, and second to the Huskies in conference tournament play during the last three years.

The game had the identity of a number of Cougar losses during the nine-game skid, when WSU dropped five of those by fewer than five points.

"It's happened quite a bit this year," WSU coach Ken Bone said. "I think the really good teams in the country win those games, and this year we were not a really good team."

For the first 35 minutes, the Cougars mirrored the team that wasn't capable of winning more than four games during the Pac-12 regular season. After 20 minutes, Motum's supporting cast only managed 11 points, while the All-Pac 12 selection would tally 14 and the Huskies would lead by 11.

For about 15 minutes, there was a glimmering reflection of the team that flattened tournament top seed UCLA less than a week ago. D.J. Shelton warmed up his jets, as did Royce Woolridge, and the duo contributed in a big way, combining for 17 points down the stretch.

Allowing his opponent to stage a timely comeback is a situation UW coach Lorenzo Romar is more than familiar with.

"Unfortunately yes, every now and then that happens," Romar said. "All the momentum shifted to them, I stated earlier, we're fortunate to be playing until tomorrow, we'll take it. Give them credit, they scrapped and fought."

But a Cougar team plagued by the absence of DaVonte Lacy, the persisting thumb injury to Mike Ladd and a never-ending 3-point barrage from the Huskies found itself caught in a "too little, too late" scenario when it counted.

That same scenario paid its dividends throughout a bumpy 2012-13 campaign for the Cougars - one that has raised questions about Bone's future.

"I'm not concerned, I'm just not too concerned about that. I think we've done a good job and decisions will be made if it's this year, next year or the following year. It's out of my control," he said.

During the game's initial 43 minutes, Motum, Shelton and Woolridge stood alone in the points column of the score sheet. Will DiIorio eventually pitched in with a 3 but the four were the only Cougars to score, despite WSU shooting a respectable 46 percent from the floor. The Huskies were marginally better from the field, shooting 48 percent, but the UW bench outscored the WSU bench 13-3 and the No. 6 seed held a 29-23 edge on the glass.

In his final game in the crimson and gray, Motum was six points shy of his career high, and the conference's second leading scorer had 28 points. After grabbing 21 rebounds in WSU's final two regular season games, Motum was good for just one board against the Huskies.

The two-time All-Pac 12 honoree will train in preparation for the NBA and will likely stay in the United States to do so.

"I'll prepare for the NBA draft and get better in a few areas, I need to improve a lot to get to that level. My plan is to keep working it, hope to achieve my dreams," Motum said.

Washington will move on to the quarterfinal round where the Huskies will meet No. 3 seed Oregon.

WASHINGTON ST. (13-19)

Motum 11-19 1-1 28, Shelton 6-13 5-6 19, Ladd 0-3 0-0 0, Woolridge 5-10 0-0 12, Kernich-Drew 0-3 0-0 0, Leavitt 0-0 0-0 0, DiIorio 1-2 0-0 3, Longrus 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-50 6-7 62.

WASHINGTON (18-14)

Kemp, Jr. 4-8 2-2 10, N'Diaye 1-2 0-2 2, Gaddy 4-10 0-0 9, Suggs 6-8 3-3 19, Wilcox 3-11 3-3 11, Andrews 1-3 0-1 3, Simmons 3-4 0-0 6, Jarreau 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 24-50 8-11 64.

Halftime-Washington 36-25. 3-Point Goals-Washington St. 10-27 (Motum 5-8, Woolridge 2-5, Shelton 2-8, DiIorio 1-2, Kernich-Drew 0-2, Ladd 0-2), Washington 8-19 (Suggs 4-6, Wilcox 2-6, Andrews 1-2, Gaddy 1-5). Fouled Out-None. Rebounds-Washington St. 23 (Ladd 6), Washington 29 (N'Diaye 8). Assists-Washington St. 13 (Kernich-Drew 4), Washington 15 (Gaddy 11). Total Fouls-Washington St. 13, Washington 11. A-8,566.