Freshman Rice scores 21, leads Washington State over Oregon 62-56
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Myles Rice scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half and Washington State beat Oregon 62-56 on Saturday in a battle for second place in the Pac-12 Conference.
Rice made 6 of 15 shots with a 3-pointer for the Cougars (18-6, 9-4), who have won five in a row and eight of their last nine. He added nine rebounds, three assists and two steals. Rice has won five freshman-of-the-week honors this season, tying Mohamed Gueye’s program record.
Jaylen Wells, who made his first six 3-point attempts in a 64-58 victory over Oregon State on Thursday, 4 of 4 against the Ducks and scored 12 of his 13 points to help Washington State take a 29-27 lead into halftime. The Cougars are 16-0 this season when leading at intermission.
Isaac Jones totaled 13 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots for the Cougars, who swept the Oregon schools on the road for the first time since 2009. Oscar Cluff pitched in with 12 points and six rebounds.
Jermaine Couisnard had 16 points before fouling out late for the Ducks (16-8, 8-5). N’Faly Dante finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds for his third double-double of the campaign. Jadrian Tracey scored 10 before fouling out.
Rice and Cluff both scored six in the first 10 minutes of the second half and Washington State increased its advantage to 47-38. Oregon missed its first eight 3-pointers until Couisnard buried one to cap a 6-0 run, cutting the deficit to three with 8:07 remaining.
Two free throws by Dante pulled the Ducks with 51-49. Rice answered with a 3-pointer and made both ends of a 1-and-1 after missing a pair at the foul line, giving the Cougars a seven-point lead with 4:11 to go. Brennan Rigsby hit 1 of 2 free throws and a 3-pointer and Oregon closed within 56-53 before Jones made two foul shots to maintain a two-possession lead at the 2:51 mark.
Couisnard hit from beyond the arc and Oregon trailed 58-56 with 47 seconds left, but he picked up his fifth foul 22 seconds later. Wells missed the second of the 1-and-1 opportunity, but Rice grabbed the rebound, was fouled and sank both to wrap up the victory.
The Cougars came in holding opponents to 41% shooting. Oregon shot 36% and missed 14 of 18 from 3-point range.
Oregon beat the Cougars on the road 89-84 in January.
Washington State heads home to play California on Thursday. Oregon returns to action at Oregon State on Feb. 17.
___
Get poll alerts and updates on AP Top 25 basketball throughout the season. Sign up here.
___
AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball