Brock Motum had a game-high 23 points, including 16 in the second half, as host Washington State earned a come-from-behind 79-68 victory over Sacramento State on Thursday.
Motum, who had 17 points in the Cougars’ 89-81 season-opening loss at Gonzaga, finished 9-of-12 from the field and added a team-high eight rebounds. Washington State (1-1) trailed 39-36 at halftime and didn’t take control until midway through the second half. With the score tied at 51 with 11 minutes left, the Cougars went on a 14-4 run to pull away. Motum had six straight points during the stretch, including consecutive layups that helped the Cougars increase their lead to double figures. Faisal Aden came off the bench to score 18 points and DaVonte Lacy added 15 on 5-of-9 from the field for the Cougars, who avoided their first 0-2 start in more than a decade and improved to 7-21 under head coach Ken Bone when trailing at the half. John Dickson had a team-high 21 points for Sacramento State (2-1), which lost for the seventh time in its last eight games against Pac-12 opponents. Dickson had 16 of his points in the first half, helping the Hornets take a 29-16 lead, its largest of the game, with 8:25 left. Joe Eberhard finished with 16 points and a game-high 13 rebounds for the Hornets, who turned the ball over 17 times.