Jaylen Wells nets 24 as Washington State defeats Oregon State

Field Level Media|published: Fri 9th February, 24:48 2024

Jan 27, 2024; Pullman, Washington, USA; Washington State Cougars head coach Kyle Smith looks on during a game against the Colorado Buffaloes in the second half at Friel Court at Beasley Coliseum. Washington State won 78-69. credits: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

Jaylen Wells set a season high in scoring for a second consecutive game, netting 24 points as Washington State defeated Oregon State 64-58 in a Pacific-12 Conference game Thursday night in Corvallis, Ore.

Andrej Jakimovski added 15 points on five 3-pointers and Isaac Jones had 12 points and seven rebounds for the Cougars (17-6, 8-4 Pac-12), who won their fourth in a row and remained a game behind conference-leading Arizona.

Jordan Pope led Oregon State (11-12, 3-9) with 12 points, Tyler Bilodeau added 11 and Michael Rataj scored 10. The Beavers lost their third straight and were defeated for just the third time in 14 home games this season.

Jones grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled, making a three-point play with 4:33 remaining to break a 51-51 tie.

Myles Rice made a floater in the lane on the Cougars' next possession to put them up by five.

Jakimovski made back-to-back treys, the latter with 2:14 left, to give WSU its largest lead of the night at 62-53.

Wells, who scored 19 points in a 90-87 overtime victory at rival Washington on Saturday, nearly matched that total in the first half, scoring 18 points to help the Cougars to a 27-26 lead. Wells shot 7 of 9, making all four of his 3-point attempts, while his teammates combined to make 4-of-20 attempts before the intermission.

Wells opened the scoring with a 3-pointer. After the Beavers took a 10-9 lead on a driving layup by Pope, Wells answered with 11 straight WSU points on a step-back jumper and a three 3-pointers to give WSU its largest lead of the half at 20-14.

The Beavers went on a 5-0 run to get within a point before Wells made a pull-up jumper and a dunk, both off Oregon State turnovers, to make it 24-21.

Pope tied it with a 3-pointer before Jakimovski converted from long range. A jumper by Pope, who led the Beavers with nine points in the half, capped the scoring heading into the intermission.

Wells made a pair of 3-pointers in the opening 3:40 of the second half to give the Cougars a 36-31 lead, but they were unable to pull away until late.

—Field Level Media

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