Washington State Defeats Northern Colorado 83-69 Behind 30 Points from Cedric Coward

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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