Cougars' late free throws beat Oregon State

SPOKANE (AP) - Brock Motum led Washington State with 26 points and eight rebounds Saturday in an 81-76 win over Oregon State.

DaVonte Lacy added 18 points for the Cougars (9-5, 1-1 Pac-12), who got their seventh win in eight games.

Jared Cunningham led Oregon State (10-4, 0-2) with 21 points. Ahmad Starks scored 18, and Joe Burton added 14 points and seven assists.

Washington State led almost all the way, but the Cougars needed late free throws to clinch the win. Oregon State trailed by three, 77-74, after Starks sank his fifth 3-pointer with 51 seconds left. Starks scored 14 points in the second half and nailed four 3-pointers in the final 5:05.

The Cougars, who struggled at both ends of the floor Thursday in a 92-75 loss to Oregon, were much more efficient Saturday. Washington State shot 54 percent from the field, including 50 percent (6 of 12) on 3-pointers. The Beavers shot 46 percent from the field.

Oregon State started the day ranked first in the Pac-12 and eighth in NCAA Division I in scoring, averaging 83.2 points per game. The Beavers were leading the league and tied for fourth nationally with 10.1 steals per game. They had

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10 more Saturday, including four apiece by Cunningham and Starks.

Motum sank his first four shots to score Washington State's first nine points. Motum finished 10 of 15 from the field.

WSU point guard Reggie Moore held up well against Oregon State's pressure defense. Moore made just one turnover in 35 minutes, scored eight points and dished out a season-high nine assists.

The Cougars are 3-0 against Oregon State the past two seasons.