Jaylen Wells Scores 24 as Washington State Overpowers Oregon State

Washington State vs. Oregon State Men's Basketball Highlights

Washington State vs. Oregon State Men's Basketball Highlights | Image: Pac-12 Networks

Jaylen Wells achieved a season high in points for the second consecutive game, scoring 24 points as Washington State secured a 64-58 victory over Oregon State in a Pacific-12 Conference match on Thursday night in Corvallis, Ore.

Andrej Jakimovski contributed 15 points with five 3-pointers and Isaac Jones tallied 12 points and seven rebounds for the Cougars (17-6, 8-4 Pac-12), who clinched their fourth consecutive win and remained one game behind the conference-leading Arizona.

Jordan Pope led Oregon State (11-12, 3-9) with 12 points, Tyler Bilodeau added 11, and Michael Rataj scored 10. The Beavers suffered their third straight loss and only their third defeat in 14 home games this season.

Jones grasped an offensive rebound and was fouled, securing a three-point play with 4:33 remaining to break a 51-51 deadlock.

Myles Rice executed a floater in the lane on the Cougars’ following possession, extending their lead by five points.

Jakimovski hit consecutive treys, the latter with 2:14 left, to give WSU their largest lead of the night at 62-53.

Wells, who contributed 19 points in a 90-87 overtime triumph against rival Washington on Saturday, almost equaled that tally in the first half, scoring 18 points to help the Cougars to a 27-26 lead. Wells shot 7 of 9, converting all four of his 3-point attempts, while his teammates collectively made 4-of-20 attempts before the break.

Wells initiated the scoring with a 3-pointer. After the Beavers took a 10-9 lead on a driving layup by Pope, Wells responded with 11 consecutive WSU points, including a step-back jumper and three 3-pointers, propelling WSU to their biggest lead of the half at 20-14.

The Beavers embarked on a 5-0 run to narrow the deficit before Wells made a pull-up jumper and a dunk, both following Oregon State turnovers, to make it 24-21.

Pope leveled the score with a 3-pointer before Jakimovski converted from long range. A jumper by Pope, who led the Beavers with nine points in the half, concluded the scoring heading into the break.

Wells made a pair of 3-pointers in the opening 3:40 of the second half to give the Cougars a 36-31 lead, but they were unable to pull away until late. 

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