Wells, Jakimovski lead Washington State past Oregon State 64-58
Washington State forward Jaylen Wells, right, shoots over Oregon State center KC Ibekwe, left, and guard Jordan Pope, center, during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, in Corvallis, Ore. Credit: AP/Amanda Loman
CORVALLIS, Ore. — Jaylen Wells hit six straight 3-pointers and scored a career-high 24 points, Andrej Jakimovski hit two of his five 3-pointers down the stretch and Washington State beat Oregon State 64-58 on Thursday night.
Wells made 9 of 15 shots, missed just twice from beyond the arc and added seven rebounds for the Cougars (17-6, 8-4 Pac-12 Conference), who have won four in a row and seven of eight. Jakimovski made 5 of 9 from distance with two coming over a 47-second span late in the game.
Isaac Jones had 12 points and seven rebounds for Washington State. Freshman Myles Rice scored eight points with six assists.
Jordan Pope led the Beavers (11-12, 3-9) with 12 points, but he was held scoreless in the second half until a late 3-pointer. Tyler Bilodeau had 11 points and Michael Rataj scored 10 off the bench.
Wells had 11 points in the first nine minutes and Washington State jumped out to a 17-12 lead. Wells sank all four of his 3-point attempts and had 18 points at halftime, one off his career high, and the Cougars led 27-26. Wells made 7 of 9 shots while his teammates sank just 4 of 20.
Jakimovski, who had three points in the first half, hit a 3-pointer to begin the second, Wells sank his first two shots from beyond the arc and Washington State led 36-31 with 16:20 left to play.
Oregon State pulled even four times but could not take the lead. KC Ibekwe's layup tied it at 51, but Isaac Jones grabbed an offensive rebound and turned it into a three-point play and the Cougars stayed in front. Rice scored in the paint and WSU led 56-51 with 3:40 to go.
Washington State forward Isaac Jones (13) drives as Oregon State forward Tyler Bilodeau (34) defends during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, in Corvallis, Ore. Credit: AP/Amanda Loman
Dexter Akanno scored for the Beavers, but Jakimovski buried a 3-pointer coming out of a media timeout and the Cougars took a two-possession lead with 2:51 remaining. Jakimovski buried another 3-pointer the next time down the court to push the lead to 62-53.
WSU coach Kyle Smith notched the 250th victory of his career, the last 86 with the Cougars. Smith spent six seasons as coach at Columbia and three at San Francisco before taking the job in Pullman, Wash.
Washington State travels to play Oregon on Saturday. Oregon State will host Washington on Saturday.
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Oregon State center KC Ibekwe dunks against Washington State during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, in Corvallis, Ore. Credit: AP/Amanda Loman
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