Cougars slumping in second half

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Washington State would be having a good basketball season, if the games were just 20 minutes long.

Three times in their past five games, the Cougars (15-10, 5-8 Pac-10) held halftime leads and then were blown out in the second half. If they had won those three road games, they would be tied for first in the Pacific-10.

At Cal last Saturday, the Cougars led 45-34 at halftime, only to be outscored 52-25 in the second half for the loss. At Stanford last Thursday, the Cougars led 33-18 at halftime, only to be outscored 42-25 in the second. Against archrival Washington on Jan. 30, they led 40-36 at halftime, only to be outscored 56-24 in the second.

Coach Ken Bone is struggling to reverse the trend. He blames a lack of depth on a team that is almost entirely composed of sophomores and freshmen.

“Maybe I should be substituting more in the first half to save our kids’ legs?” Bone said Tuesday.

But playing a bunch of reserves may not produce an 11-point halftime lead over Cal, he added.

“There’s give and take in everything we try to do,” Bone said. “I’m trying to make sure we have the best guys on the floor at all times.”

That means Klay Thompson, who averages 21 points per game, also averages 35 minutes per game. Reggie Moore, second at 13 points per game, averages nearly 32 minutes.

The cause of the turnaround has been the same each time: The Cougars lose their shooting touch and then slump on defense. In the loss to Cal, the Cougars shot 65 percent in the first half and 37 percent in the second. Against Stanford they shot 46 percent in the first and 37 percent in the second. Against the Huskies they shot 44 percent in the first and 22 percent in the second.

In each loss, the winning team shot substantially better in the second half.

The trend actually started at No. 16 Gonzaga on Dec. 2, when the Cougars led 39-27 at halftime, only to be outscored 47-30 in the second half for the loss.

On the season, the Cougars have been outscored 988-978 in the second half, after holding an 86-point lead in the first half.

Bone noted that all three of the comeback losses were on the road.

“It’s harder to sustain that energy on the road than it is at home,” Bone said, noting the Cougars recently led Arizona at home after the first half and extended the lead in the second.

The Cougars’ next three games are home as they try to reverse the trend. They host UCLA on Thursday and Southern California on Saturday, then host Washington on Feb. 27. Their final two games are at Oregon State and Oregon.

Bone has been juggling his lineup as the Cougars have dropped five of their past six games. He’s been substituting earlier and giving players on the end of the bench more playing time. But nothing has produced consistent success beyond the starting lineup that also includes DeAngelo Casto, Marcus Capers and Nik Koprivica.

The Cougars still have a shot at a fourth consecutive postseason tournament, a first for the program. But Bone has speculated they will need at least 19 wins to get invited somewhere because the Pac-10 is so lightly regarded this year.