PULLMAN — So much for the easy part of the schedule.
After an arduous 2½-week stretch against four of the top five teams in the Pac-12 resulted in lopsided losses, the Washington men’s basketball team believed the schedule would ease up a bit Saturday night in the first of its six final regular-season games.
Washington State reminded the Huskies that nothing ever comes easy in the cross-state matchup between the Pac-12 rivals.
Washington nearly overcame another horrendous start and a 12-point deficit, but a last-minute comeback attempt fell short and the Huskies lost 56-51 at Beasley Coliseum in the 293rd rendition of the hardwood Apple Cup.
It was the fourth straight defeat for UW (13-13, 5-10 Pac-12).
Former WSU standout Noah Williams scored a team-high 12 points for the Huskies in his first return to Pullman after a three-year stint with the Cougars.
Williams came off the bench for the second straight game and checked in with 15:56 left in the first half when the Huskies trailed 5-0 after missing their first seven field goals. Whenever he touched the ball, the crimson-clad Cougar crowd booed, but he seemed oblivious while connecting on 4 of 8 shots and collecting four rebounds in 28 minutes.
Even with Williams, Washington continued to struggle offensively and converted just 1 of its first 11 shots to fall behind 10-3.
The Huskies scored eight unanswered points to surge ahead 11-10 and Cole Bajema’s driving layup tied the game at 20-20 with 4:09 left in the first half.
The Cougars finished the first half with an 11-2 run to take a 31-22 lead into the break. UW has trailed at halftime in 18 of 26 games this season.
After a scoreless first half, Keion Brooks Jr. scored six of his eight points early in the second half, including a layup that pulled the Huskies to 40-37. That’s when UW committed three straight turnovers that led to a 7-0 WSU run and a 47-37 deficit with 8:11 to go.
The Huskies mounted one last comeback in the final minutes and closed to within 49-47 after a couple of free throws from Jamal Bey with 1:26 left.
At the other end, TJ Bamba knocked down two free throws and the Cougars held on.
Braxton Meah finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds for UW.
Bamba led Washington State (11-15, 6-9) with 20 points and seven rebounds, while Mouhamed Gueye had 17 points and 15 rebounds.
Washington returns home and will play Oregon on Wednesday.