Stanford Cardinal guard Andrej Stojakovic (2) shoots over the Washington State Cougars center Ruben Chinyelu (20) in the first half of the Pac 12 Tournament quarter round at the T Mobile Center in Las Vegas on Thu Mar 14, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Two things happened Thursday when Washington State defeated Stanford 79-62 in the quarterfinal round of the final Pac-12 men’s basketball tournament.

1) The loss ended the Cardinal’s season, and 2) almost simultaneously, Coach Jerod Haase was dismissed after leading Stanford to a 126-127 record in eight seasons at the Cardinal’s helm.

In a statement, the Stanford athletic department said a nationwide search for Haase’s replacement would begin immediately.

The No. 2-seed Cougars (24-8) will make their first appearance in the Pac-12 semifinals since 2008 on Friday. Stanford’s season ends with a record of 14-18. They were 8-12 in the conference.

Fifth-year forward Isaac Jones, an All-Pac-12 first team selection, led the Cougars with 16 points and six rebounds while making 7-of-12 shots. Myles Rice, the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and all-conference first team, and Jaylen Wells each scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds. Rice and Wells combined for 11 assists.

Andrej Jakmovski scored 13 points for WSU, followed by Kymany Houinsou and Rueben Chinyelu with 11 and 10 points, respectively, off the Cougars bench.

The Cardinal took an early 9-7 lead before Washington State took a 15-9 advantage. Over the next five minutes, the Cougars extended their lead to 10 points, eventually leading 29-19.

Brandon Angel and Michael Jones combined for 21 first-half points, as no other Cardinal had more than three points at the break. WSU held a 45-29 halftime lead after holding Stanford to 1-for-10 on 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes.

Five minutes into the second half, Rice’s jumper pushed the Cougars’ lead to 58-34. Stanford responded with a 12-2 run, cutting its deficit to 60-46.

After Rice converted a steal into a dunk, Washington State pushed its lead back to 21 after a Wells 3-pointer. Isaac Jones made a short jumper and Rice’s layup put the Cougars up 69-48 with 7:22 left.

Michael Jones led Stanford with 22 points, followed by 15 points by Angel. The Cardinal never got closer than 17 points for the remainder of the game.