The Washington State Cougars defeated the California Golden Bears in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament, 66-59, on Wednesday night in Las Vegas.
WSU (19-13) led by 12 at the halftime, but Cal (12-20) pulled within four with 14:45 to go. The Cougars held off the Golden Bears’ comeback attempt by knocking down 18 of their 21 second half free throw attempts. The win propels WSU into the second round against the UCLA Bruins, whom they’ll take on tonight at 6 p.m. PT on Pac-12 Network.
Reigning freshman of the week (for the fifth time) Mouhamed Gueye was a game-time decision for tonight’s contest with an ankle injury, and he ended up being a late scratch after warm ups.