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# Dogged by Shooting Woes, Wazzu Men’s Basketball Drops Two of Three in Maui Invitational
- URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/dogged-by-shooting-woes-wazzu-mens-basketball-drops-two-of-three-maui-invitational/
- Published: 2025-12-01T21:54:15.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-08T05:48:07.000Z
- Author: Jacob Stevenson
- Tags: News, Ace Glass, Rihards Vavers, Eemeli Yalaho, Tomas Thrastarson, Cougars

[Embed from Getty Images](https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/2248624198?ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com)

Washington State men’s basketball wrapped up a 1–2 showing this past week in the Maui Invitational, defeating Division II Chaminade 90–85, losing a shootout to Arizona State 100–94, and falling to Seton Hall 75–61\. For the most part, the Cougars continued to show encouraging signs offensively, but the defense struggled throughout the tournament. Following the event, Washington State sits at No. 166 in[ KenPom](https://kenpom.com/index.php?s=TeamName&ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com) with the nation’s 96th-ranked offense and 322nd-ranked defense.

The opening game against Chaminade was a roller coaster. After falling behind by as many as 20 points in the first half, the Cougars regrouped and stormed back, ultimately winning 90–85\. WSU outscored Chaminade 49–33 in the second half and built a 17-point lead with less than nine minutes remaining, but a combination of defensive lapses, turnovers, and a sluggish offense allowed Chaminade to cut the lead to three with 1:45 left. Freshman Ace Glass came off the bench and erupted for 26 points on 8-of-15 shooting while Rihards Vavers delivered a career-best 25 points, going 7-of-12 from three, and the hot shooting and toughness carried the Cougars to a much-needed win.

The high-scoring semifinal against Arizona State saw some extremely impressive shooting and some very poor defense. Although the Cougars scored 94 points, they still couldn’t match ASU’s 100\. Ace Glass delivered a monster performance with 40 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including six three-pointers and an impressive 16 of 18 from the free throw line, but it wasn’t enough to strike down the Moe Odum-led Sun Devils. 

Odum scored 26 points, drilling five three-pointers and going a perfect 9-of-9 from the free-throw line. In the second half alone, Odum poured in 19 points as the Sun Devils erased a 12-point deficit and brought down the Cougs. Other notable contributors for ASU included Bryce Ford with 18 points, Anthony Johnson with 13, and Massamba Diop with 12\. Collectively, Arizona State shot 59 percent from the field and made 11 of 23 three-point attempts.

On the WSU side beyond Glass, Eemeli Yalaho scored 12 points and Tomas Thrastarson contributed 11\. Despite making 14 of 26 three-point attempts overall, an impressive 53 percent), 10 of those makes came in the first half, when WSU built a 48-42 lead. But as the shooting cooled off in the second half and the defense collapsed, that production slowed to a crawl.

The final game of the tournament against Seton Hall was played at a slower pace (66 possessions, compared with 78 and 71 in the first two games), but WSU’s shooting woes and defensive wrinkles again cost them. The Cougars went 5-for-21 in three-point attempts, and while Glass, Vavers, and forward ND Okafor shot 18-of-33 from the field, the rest of the roster managed just 4-of-30.

As WSU heads on the road to face the Bradley Braves on Tuesday, the Maui Invitational served as a glaring reminder of where this team stands: they can absolutely score in bunches, but their inability to defend consistently or generate stops will make it hard to beat solid teams unless they stay hot from beyond the arc.