The 2022-23 Washington State Cougars came to a close with gut-wrenching loss in the first round of the NIT to the Eastern Washington Eagles, 81-74.
Despite being without sophomore superstar Mouhamed Gueye, WSU (17-17) rallied from nine down at half to take a nine-point lead of their own. EWU (23-10) closed out the game with a clutch three pointer from Steele Venters with 16 seconds to go and collected a season-ending offensive rebound in the closing seconds. Venters scored a game-high 27.
With Gueye out due to a back injury, the Cougars opted to go small with a starting five of; Justin Powell, Jabe Mullins, D.