Josh Hawkinson racked up 27 points and eight rebounds and Washington State withstood a late Rice rally to eke out a 76-74 victory in Friday's consolation round at the Great Alaska Shootout.
The Cougars (2-3) jumped to a 12-0 lead and led 17-4 after six minutes of action at the Alaska Airlines Center -- a turnaround from Thursday night, when they scored only 12 first-half points in a blowout loss to UC Santa Barbara.
But Rice (1-4) didn't fold. The Owls rallied behind Marcus Jackson's eight points, Max Guercy's seven points and Maurice Rivers' six points and five rebounds to cut the WSU lead to 39-33 at the half.
Rice outscored Washington State in the second half 41-37 but never managed to grab the lead. Hawkinson scored 16 of his points and DaVonte Lacey netted 10 of his 15 in the final 20 minutes, during which the Cougars hit 52.4 percent of their shots from the field.
Washington State had more turnovers (10-8) and fewer rebounds (39-32) than Rice, but the Cougars sank enough free throws down the stretch to maintain control. Led by Lacey's 9-of-9 effort, they were 21 of 29 for the game from the foul line.
Washington State advanced to Saturday's fifth-place game against Missouri State, while Rice will face UAA in the seventh-place game at noon.
RICE (74) -- Gearhart 7-13 6-8 22, Drone 2-8 1-3 5, Guercy 4-9 2-2 11, Jackson 5-14 1-2 14, Green 2-5 0-1 4, Peera 4-4 0-0 10, Rivers 1-5 4-4 6, Mency 0-4 0-0 0, Pollard 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 26-65 14-20 74.
WASHINGTON STATE (76) -- Longrus 2-4 1-2 5, Hawkinson 11-18 5-6 27, Iroegbu 3-3 0-2 8, Redding 1-4 5-8 7, Lacey 2-6 9-9 15, Railey 1-2 0-0 2, Kernich-Drew 4-8 1-2 12, Johnson 0-3 0-0 0, Boese 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 24-51 21-29 76.
Rice 33 41 -- 74
Washington State 39 37 -- 76
3-point goals -- Rice 8-22 (Gearhart 2-6, Guercy 1-5, Jackson 3-6, Peera 2-2, Green 0-1, Rivers 0-1, Mency 0-1), WSU 7-15 (Iroegbu 2-2, Redding 0-1, Lacey 2-5, Kernich-Drew 3-4, Boese 0-3). Rebounds -- Rice 39 (Rivers 8), WSU 32 (Hawkinson 8). Total fouls -- Rice 22, WSU 20. Fouled out -- Peera. Assists -- Rice 17 (Jackson 5), WSU 21 (Redding 8). Turnovers -- Rice 8 (2 with 2), WSU 10 (3 with 2). Blocks -- Rice 2 (Green, Pollard), WSU 5 (Hawkinson 2, Longrus 2). Steals -- Rice 1 (Peera), WSU 4 (Lacey 2). A -- 2,554. Officials -- Corson, Watts, Zakarian.