WSU Cougars fall to Portland 74-68 in 2nd round of WCC tourney

Garrett Nuckolls scored 23 points as ninth-seeded Portland beat the eighth-seeded WSU Cougars 74-68 in the second round of the West Coast Conference Tournament.

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Mar 6, 2026, 9:00 PM Updated: Mar 7, 2026, 7:22 pm

Follow on Google News

ND Okafor of the WSU Cougars shoots during a December 2024 game. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

(Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Garrett Nuckolls scored 23 points as Portland beat the WSU Cougars 74-68 on Friday night in the second round of the West Coast Conference Tournament.

No. 9 seed Portland advances to play No. 5 seed San Francisco on Saturday in a third-round matchup.

Nuckolls added six rebounds for the Pilots (13-18). Joel Foxwell totaled 17 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Jermaine Ballisager Webb finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Aaron Glass had 19 points and five assists to pace the eighth-seeded Cougars (12-19). ND Okafor added 12 points and six rebounds, while Eemeli Yalaho pitched in with 11 points and six rebounds.

Nuckolls scored 17 points in the second half to help Portland rally from a 29-25 deficit at halftime.

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

No end in sight for eligibility, contract battles in college sports