UCLA comes out flat, trails Washington State 32-19 at the half

The leading scorer in the Pac-10 isn’t playing for Washington State. The Cougars haven’t needed his services yet.

Thanks to a balanced attack, aggressive defense and generally superior effort, Washington State holds a 32-19 halftime lead over a UCLA team that looks like it left all its talent and tenacity in Seattle.

Apparently the Bruins figured that with Cougar star Klay Thompson out of the lineup due to a suspension – Thompson was caught with marijuana after Thursday’s game against USC – they would have their way with the sixth-place team in the Pac-10.

That’s been far from the case – sophomore forward Brock Motum has nine points off the bench and Washington State shot 48 percent from the field in the first half. UCLA, meanwhile, shot just 28 percent and failed to make a three-pointer in eight attempts.

In repeated efforts to stop Washington State runs, UCLA coach Ben Howland burned four timeouts in the first half. Howland ran out of his five timeouts in the middle of the second half against Washington on Thursday.