Isaac Jones has double-double, balanced Washington State beats Utah 79-57

Jan 25, 2024, 04:27 pm

PULLMAN, Wa. -- — Isaac Jones scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, all five starters reached double-figures in scoring and Washington State pulled away from Utah in the second half for a 79-57 victory on Wednesday.

Andrej Jakimovski scored 14 points, Oscar Cluff and Jaylen Wells added 13 each and Myles Rice had 10 points for the Cougars (14-6, 5-4 Pac-12).

Branden Carlson scored 20 points, Keba Keita had 10 points and nine rebounds and Gabe Madsen scored 14 points for the Utes (14-6, 5-4).

Consecutive 3-pointers by Isaiah Watts helped put the Cougars up 57-49 near the midway point of the second half. After hitting 36% of their shots in the first half, the Cougars opened the second period with 11 of 17 shooting.

After Carlson's jumper got Utah within 59-51, the Utes missed 7 of 8 shots in a 6-minute stretch and the Cougars led by 16 with 3 minutes remaining. Washington State scored the final nine points.

The Cougars went up by nine points twice in the first half, first when Jakimovski hit a 3-pointer for a 25-16 lead and secondly when Isaac Jones hit a free throw to go up 33-24 with 2 1/2 minutes remaining. Utah scored the last six points of the half and Keita's buzzer-beating jumper made it 33-30 at the break.

Washington State hosts Colorado on Saturday. Utah plays at Washington on Saturday.

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