No. 7 Cougars stifle Bengals

POCATELLO, Idaho – It would have been perfectly understandable for the Washington State men’s basketball team to bring a less than enthusiastic attitude into Holt Arena on Sunday.

No one expected all that many fans to show up for this game, and the No. 7 Cougars were heavy favorites against a struggling Idaho State team fresh off a 40-point loss at UCLA. With even an average effort, Washington State was likely to walk away from southeast Idaho with an undefeated record.

But the Cougars found a reason to get pumped up. With regular sixth man Daven Harmeling unable to play because of a fractured thumb on his shooting hand, the Cougars regrouped and pounded Idaho State 75-45.

“Missing a guy that got hurt in practice,” WSU senior guard Kyle Weaver said, “I think that just brought us together. It got us off to a good start in this game.”

And a good finish.

Behind a stingy defensive performance that confused and frustrated Idaho State on almost every possession, Washington State stormed out to a 28-12 lead in the first half.

Then the Cougars used an offensive surge and 10-0 run at the beginning of the second half to keep the game a blowout.

Other than a few moments late in the first half, when Idaho State cut Washington State’s lead to 10, the Cougars (11-0) were in total command.

That was exactly what WSU coach Tony Bennett was hoping for.

“It was important for us to just come in and play solid,” Bennett said. “We lost one of our key players in practice the day before, Daven Harmeling, who fractures his thumb. I was concerned. That makes us a little thin on the front line with only three guys.”

No problem there. A team doesn’t need all that much depth up front when its defense is clicking and its guards are making shots from the outside.

Washington State got both on Sunday.

The hot shooting came from senior guard Derrick Low, who drained all five of his 3-pointers in the first half on the way to a game-high 20 points.

“It’s always good for a shooter to knock down his first couple shots,” Low said. “Then you get that confidence and you just tend to be a little more aggressive and look for a shot a little more.”

Combined with an 18-point effort from Weaver and an opportunistic defense that turned 17 Idaho State turnovers into 23 points, the Cougars didn’t look a man down at all.

“If you’re a solid team, you will come out and show that,” Bennett said.

“You’ll play from start to finish. Our goal is always to make them shoot as many contested shots as possible and we need to get quality shots. Our guys did a solid job of that.”

Picking up the rest of the slack for Harmeling’s absence were Caleb Forrest, who scored 11 points in 28 minutes, and Taylor Rochestie, who finished with nine points and eight assists.

Everywhere Idaho State coach Joe O’Brien looked, someone in a Washington State uniform was burning the Bengals.

“The are a legit top-10 team,” O’Brien said. “They pass, they catch, they shoot, they rebound and they defend. They don’t do it with glamor and glitz, but they sure get the job done.”

WSU 75, Idaho State 45

Percentages: FG .488. FT .818. 3-Point Goals: 38-16, .500 (Low 5-9, Rochestie 2-3, Weaver 1-2, Koprivica 0-1, Abercrombie 0-1) Team Rebounds: 0. Blocked Shots: 4 (Baynes 2, Weaver, Cross). Turnovers: 11 (Cowgill, Baynes 4, Weaver 2, Sauls, Koprivica 2, Forrest) Steals: 11 (Cowgill, Baynes, Low 2, Rochestie 2, Weaver 3, Koprivica, Forrest). Technical Fouls: None.

Percentages: FG .386, FT .500. 3-Point Goals: 4-12, .333 (Morgan 1-3, Kilpatrick 2-5, Stucki 0-3, Carson 1-1). Team Rebounds: 2. Blocked Shots: 3 (Morgan, Kilpatrick, Stucki). Turnovers: 17 (Steijn, Morgan 3, Kilpatrick, Stucki 4, Kinghorn, Carson 2, Tatum 3, O’Brien 2). Steals: 4 (Kilpatrick, Carson 2, Tatum). Technical Fouls: Team. Halftime–Washington State 34, Idaho State 20. A–2,241.