The second half giveth and the second half taketh.
On Tuesday night, the Washington State Cougars used a big second half to get past the Fresno State Bulldogs and set up a date with the SMU Mustangs in the Acrisure Series Championship Game. However, on Wednesday night, it was the opposite story.
WSU (6-2) was outscored 50-29 in the second half as SMU (6-2) rallied from down as much as seven to a double-digit victory, 77-60.
SMU’s early shooting struggles plagued the Mustangs, missing their first nine shots from the field, allowing WSU to seize an early lead thanks to a 9-2 run that gave them their biggest lead of the night at seven. Though it’s not like WSU was exactly shooting the lights out. Over the first 20 minutes of play, the Cougars shot 35.3% from the field and 29.4% from downtown. But, thanks to only three turnovers and scoring six points off SMU’s seven first-half turnovers, WSU went into halftime up four.
As the game rolled into the second half, the Mustangs began to find their groove. On two separate occasions, the Mustangs rattled off 7-0 runs and tacked on a 6-0 run around the midway point in the second half to help flip a once seven-point Cougar lead into an eight-point Mustang lead. WSU was able to shoot the ball efficiently but turned the ball over five times compared to just one mishap from the Mustangs. WSU also found themselves in foul trouble early, putting the Mustangs in the bonus before the halfway mark in the second half.
With the game hanging in the balance after SMU’s 6-0 run to balloon the lead to a game-high eight points, the Cougar offense finally began to wake up. They took better care of the ball, turning it over just once in the final 15 minutes and cut the deficit down to two points with a 10-4 run.
However, over the final six and a half minutes, WSU failed to keep pace with the Mustangs. The Cougar offense went ice cold, going on a 5:46-long scoring drought as SMU blew the game wide open with a 19-3 run to push the lead to a game-high 18 points.
WSU will enjoy the rest of their holiday break before heading to Reno, Nevada, to take on the Nevada Wolfpack on Monday.
