It was just enough, but it was barely enough. The Washington St. Cougars didn't need Brock Motum to win the first game in the CBI Championship (Ken Pomeroy was spot-on ($)!), but it won't be so easy a task to win one more of these games.
Pitt actually struggled with shooting twos (41.1%) but absolutely knocking down threes (10 of 20, 50%), while WSU did do pretty well inside even without Motum (46.4% shooting) and still hitting their customary slate of three pointers (60% overall). Abe Lodwick did most of the outside damage to get Washington State up for good. Pitt managed the extra possessions by piling up 13 offensive rebounds to Washington State's eight.
The Cougars also didn't need Motum to get to the line. Washington State did manage to get Reggie Moore to the line, where he hit eight of ten free throws; DaVonte Lacy and Charlie Enquist hit three of four free throws apiece. D.J. Shelton provided some crucial buckets in the second half, and both Lacy and Enquist scored some crucial points to extend the WSU lead to double digits with under nine minutes left in the second half.
Despite all that, Washington State still could barely hold on. They had to endure a final 18-7 scoring run in the last seven minutes, and just didn't have any offense left down the stretch without Motum to generate enough baskets. Winning in Pittsburgh could be a tough task, since Pitt is probably unlikely to be that unsuccessful inside for a second straight contest.
This series has only begun for the quest to be #101.