Cougars beat Texas Southern 77-65, are 4-0 to start the season

PULLMAN — Temperatures dropped well below freezing Saturday night in Pullman, but the coldest folks in town were playing basketball inside the toasty Beasley Coliseum.

The Texas Southern Tigers made just 10 of 33 shots the first 22 minutes before warming to the task, but not before Washington State built a 47-26 halftime lead and coasted to a 77-65 nonconference win.

“The first half was the best basketball that we’ve played since I’ve been here coaching at Washington State,” coach Ernie Kent said, who arrived at WSU last season. “I thought we were awesome. The way we ran, the rhythm of the game, the tempo of the game was outstanding.”

Texas Southern coach Mike Davis was similarly impressed.

“They play with passion,” Davis said. “They play together . they’ve been sharing the ball, playing really, really well. I wish we played like them.”

Josh Hawkinson, back in action after missing one game with a groin injury, scored 20 points in 23 minutes off the bench. Ike Iroegbu added 19 points for the Cougars (4-0), who are off to their best start since starting 5-0 in 2010.

Washington State had 20 assists on 32 baskets, compared to six assists on 25 baskets for Texas Southern (1-5). WSU shot 60.6 percent in the first half and 55.2 percent overall. The Tigers shot just 32.3 percent in the first half, but finished at 43.9 percent after hitting 57.7 percent in the second half.

Texas Southern’s Malcolm Riley scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half and Chris Davis poured in 14 of his 20 points after halftime.

“The second half, I don’t think we were sharp or as focused,” Kent said. “I thought we got greedy a little bit, took some bad shots. A little selfishness.”

“I feel like there was a moment at the start of the second half where we weren’t sharing the ball like we were in the first half,” Iroegbu said.

Davis credited the Cougars for “playing hard on defense,” but he said his players “just got wild and started playing crazy” in the first half.