LAS VEGAS - Ryan Beasley played the modesty card when asked about scoring a career-high 29 points in just his second career start to spark San Francisco to an 86-75 victory over Washington State in their quarterfinal game at the Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Basketball Championship on Sunday night.
“It’s just going out there to compete,” the sophomore point guard said of his performance barely a week after suffering an ankle injury against Gonzaga that landed him in the hospital.
Teammate Malik Thomas wasn’t buying Beasley’s soft sell.
“He’s a killer,” Thomas said. “He’s going to sugarcoat it but that boy puts in so much work and time. He’s always about the right things. It was just a matter of time when these type of performances were going to happen.”
The surprise for Dons coach Chris Gerlufsen was not how Beasley played but that he played at all. He said he found out just 15 minutes before tipoff that Beasley felt good enough to be on the floor.
“That was music to my ears and the performance he put on for not having done anything the last week . . . I can’t say enough about the mental and physical toughness he showed and our group showed,” Gerlufsen said.
First-year WSU coach David Riley was impressed by the Dons and by Beasley in particular.
“The guy went for 29, was hitting fadeaway 3s, had a hell of a game,” Riley said. "They’re a really good team . . . super talented, they play together, defensively they’re intense.”
The third-seeded Dons (24-8) advance to the semifinals and will face No. 2 seed Gonzaga (23-8) on Monday at 8:30 p.m.
He had eight points in the first half when Thomas scored 12, and the Dons held a narrow 34-32 lead over the sixth-seeded Cougars (19-14).
In the second half, Beasley broke loose. He scored 21 points on 8-for-9 shooting, including back-to-back 3-pointers with less than 9 minutes left that gave the Dons a 66-56 lead.
"He’s an explosive player. It’s not a shock to us,” said Thomas, who entered the week as the WCC scoring leader at 19.1 points per game and had 18 against WSU. “We know he can score in bunches and we’re super-proud of him because it takes a lot of mental toughness to go like he did.”
For Gerlufsen, it wasn’t just the scoring that pleased him about Beasley’s outing.
“He was never a backup. He was a sixth starter for us,” Gerlufsen said. “Ryan has been itching and waiting for this. I think he showed he’s more than capable of running a team and being kind of the head of the snake. The scoring is great. He’s just a fiery player who leads the team.”
Others made significant contributions as USF matched its highest win total (24 in 2021-22) since the 1981-82 squad that went 25-6. Junjie “Barry” Wong, a 6-foot-9 sophomore from China, had 10 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Freshman Tyrone Riley IV contributed 10 points and six rebounds as the Dons dominated the boards, 49-25.
Ethan Price, a senior forward from England, led WSU with 26 points the night after he produced 22 in a 94-77 win over LMU. Sophomore LeJuan Watts had 20 points and point guard Nate Calmese chipped in 16 points and 11 assists.
UP NEXT: Gonzaga has had USF’s number, winning both matchups this season, including by a 95-75 margin at the Chase Center in San Francisco on March 1. Overall, the Dons have dropped the past 32 encounters with the Zags, dating back to the 2012-13 season.
“Obviously, that’s the one team in the league we have not beaten. Our guys know that,” Gerlufsen said. “It’s a little bit of a motivating factor for us. When we play with kind of a chip on our shoulder and attack on both ends of the floor, I can live with that regardless of what the results are.”
Gerlufsen said in the recent meeting at Chase that his players didn’t display the kind of determination they’ll need to end the streak. “I know our guys will be more attentive tomorrow,” he said. “I told the team in the locker room it’s amazing what the human mind and body are capable of when you just lock in a little bit more and it means a little bit more.”
BATTERED ON THE BOARDS: WSU’s Riley was gratified by a lot of what his team achieved this season, especially given all the changes, including a new conference.
Going forward, he said reducing turnovers and improving rebounding will be important goals. Sunday night was a glaring example of the latter issue. USF secured 21 offensive rebounds it transformed into 21 second-chance points. WSU grabbed just five of its own missed shots, converting them for four points.
“When you look at the game, rebounding is the stat that stands out,” Riley said. “It’s been an Achilles heel for us all year. We were dead last in (the WCC) in defensive rebounding. I’ve got to get better at coaching it.”
Riley also pointed to the Cougars’ 11-for-20 effort shooting free throws as a factor in the outcome. USF made 18 of its 20 attempts.