Tonight, the Washington State Cougars defeated the Northern Colorado Bears, 83-69, much in part due to an outstanding performance from Cougar star wing Cedric Coward, who put up 30 points on 12-for-18 from the field. Other notable outings included LeJuan Watts, who continued his hot start to the year on the glass with eight rebounds on top of 11 points. Dane Erikstrup had 14 points while Isaiah Watts added another 12 and grabbed six boards.

The game was a tight one in the first half, as Northern Colorado kept it close, only trailing by six at the half by a score of 43-37. Due to this effort, the Bears actually took the lead with 12:13 left in the second half before Washington State took control and led the rest of the game. Both teams struggled from beyond the arc, and combined for 15-of-52 overall.

The shooting as a whole was fairly inconsistent for UNCO, while on non-threes, the Cougars shot a blistering 25-of-35. They made their presence known in the paint, scoring 44 points and out-rebounding the Bears 38-33. This marks the fifth time in as many games that Washington State led in the rebounding margin, as it has become a strength of their team, though Northern Colorado did have an advantage in offensive rebounding.

For the Bears, Langston Reynolds led the team in points with 17 on 7-for-11 from the field, plus four boards and three assists. The Cougars did hold the Bears’ leading scorer Isaiah Hawthorne to just 3-for-13 from the field for 10 points, though he did get to 10 boards. The defensive effort for Washington State was better in the second half as UNCO finished just 8-of-30 from beyond the arc for the game.

Washington State’s next game will be against head coach David Riley’s former team, Eastern Washington, on Thursday.

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The Washington Wizards are getting healthier as veteran point guard Malcolm Brogdon made his return after recovering from thumb surgery.

This only leaves Saddiq Bey as the lone person on the injury report, as he works towards improving from his torn ACL.

Bey, 25, tore his ACL in March, leaving his timetable for a return up in the air. But Brogdon shared with reporters that Bey is healing very quickly.

“We definitely built a bond, a strong rapport,” Brogdon said. “He’s working man. He’s actually progressing fast, so we’re gonna have to slow him down because he’s doing really well.”

If an ACL tear takes 9-12 months to heal, that would likely mean the middle of December is the earliest possible return for him.

With four years of NBA experience under his belt, Bey could also be another veteran that the Wizards rely on.

“He’s competitive, he’s smart. I think he can be reserved, he can be quiet to a lot of people but me and him are very open. We talk a lot. He really knows the game and loves to hoop, so he’s going to help this team a lot when he comes back,” Brogdon said.

The Wizards could use Bey either as a valuable veteran on the court to help the younger players or as a trade piece. Bey signed a three-year contract with the Wizards back in the offseason, but if he generates some trade interest before the Feb. 6 deadline, Washington may look to see what offers he could fetch to help the future.

Either way, the Wizards will get some value out of Bey to help the team in the long run.

Bey and the Wizards are back in action on Friday when they host the defending champion Boston Celtics in the NBA Cup.

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It seems pretty clear at this point that Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin is going to break Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record. A hat trick in the Capitals win over the Vegas Golden Knights put Ovechkin within 30 of the record, and is starting to answer a big question that was being asked entering the season.

Many wondered if the Ovechkin would be able to break the record this year while the Capitals weren’t expected to perform at a high level. Not only are the Capitals one of the top teams in the NHL, but Ovechkin is also on pace to crush Gretzky’s record.

Ovechkin’s goal-scoring has become must-see TV for hockey fans and even Hall of Famers are rooting cheering him on. In an interview with Responsible Gambler, newly minted Hockey Hall of Famer Jeremy Roenick believes Ovechkin can topple the record this season.

“The guy is the best goal-scorer I’ve ever seen,” Roenick said to rg.org. “He’s the best goal-scorer in history. And if anybody can do it, he’ll do it.”

Roenick admitted it will be tough for Ovechkin to keep up his pace, but he continues to make it look easy.

“He’s done things that are just absolutely unmatched in terms of goal scoring.”

Roenick certainly knows a thing or two about goal-scoring since he picked up 513 over his 20-year NHL career. That’s good for fourth all-time among American-born players. He tacked on back-to-back 50-goal campaigns in the early 1990s with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Even at 39 years old, Ovechkin is still showing he has what it takes to score with the best of the best. He’s currently tied for the league lead in goals with 13 in just 17 games played.

With 11 goals in his last 10 games, Ovechkin is on a ridiculous pace that no one expected. Sure, it felt like a certainty that he would break Gretzky’s record eventually, but not many would have predicted this sort of pace from aged veteran.

Roenick puts it best when he calls Ovechkin “a freak of nature.”

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