National Basketball Association
Washington St. 67, Pittsburgh 66
When: 10:00 PM ET, Monday, March 26, 2012
Where: Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum, Pullman, Washington
Officials:
# Kevin Brill, # Mark Cook, # Gregory Nixon
Attendance:
4226
By SportsDirect Inc.
Washington State 67, Pittsburgh 66: Abe Lodwick had 16 points and seven rebounds as the host Cougars withstood a furious rally to take the opener in the College Basketball Invitational championship.
Game 2 in the best-of-3 series is Wednesday night at Pittsburgh.
Reggie Moore added 14 points and DeVonte Lacy had 10 for Washington State (19-16), which played without leading scorer Brock Motum. The All-Pac-12 forward sprained an ankle against Oregon State in the semifinals.
Tray Woodall and J.J. Moore scored 16 points apiece for Pittsburgh (20-17), which made just four of its first 17 second-half shots while the Cougars pulled ahead. Washington State led by as many as 12 (60-48) with eight minutes remaining following a 13-1 run.
Talib Zanna's three-point play brought the Panthers within 67-65 with a minute left, but Zanna later made one of two foul shots with a chance to tie. In the closing seconds, Pitt had a layup blocked and missed a jumper at the buzzer.
The Panthers used a 13-0 burst to gain a 25-17 advantage midway through the first half. Woodall hit three of the team's seven 3-pointers in the half as Pitt took a 38-35 edge into the locker room.
Washington State shot 63 percent (12 for 19) in the first half, including 5 for 7 beyond the arc, to keep things tight in Motum's absence. The Cougars reclaimed the lead on Lacy's free throw at 43-42 and did not relinquish it.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Lodwick topped his 6.6 scoring average less than six minutes in and netted seven straight points during an early 12-2 Cougars' run. ... It marked Pittsburgh's first visit to Pullman, Wash., since facing Pepperdine there in the 1982 NCAA tournament. ... Pitt senior Ashton Gibbs, who missed all eight of his shots in going scoreless against Butler in the semifinals, made his first Monday, an early 3-pointer, but was shutout the rest of the first half.
Top Game Performances
| Pittsburgh |
|
Washington St. |
|
J.J. Moore 16 |
Scoring |
Abe Lodwick 16 |
|
Tray Woodall 7 |
Assists |
Reggie Moore 5 |
|
Talib Zanna 8 |
Rebounds |
Abe Lodwick 7 |
|
J.J. Moore 4 |
Free Throws Made |
Reggie Moore 8 |
|
Lamar Patterson 1 |
Steals |
Charlie Enquist 1 |
|
Cameron Wright 1 |
Blocks |
Marcus Capers 2 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Pittsburgh
|
66 |
44.4 |
10-20 |
8-15 |
18 |
28 |
2 |
4 |
7 |
| Washington St.
|
67 |
51.2 |
9-15 |
14-19 |
16 |
26 |
4 |
3 |
8 |