In turned out Washington State’s second game in the three-day Cougar Hispanic College Fund Challenge wasn’t one.
A game or a challenge.
The Cougars methodically demolished outsized Mississippi Valley State College, 71-26, setting a school record or two in the process.
In Saturday’s nightcap, Montana blitzed Air Force early but had to survive a furious Falcon rally down the stretch for a 59-57 win.
The Delta Devils lacked height (no player taller than 6-foot-6), scorers (only senior forward Carl Lucas had more than four points, with 18) and rebounders (WSU won that battle, 38-23). The only thing the Devils didn’t lack was effort, and that wasn’t enough against the nation’s ninth-ranked team before a quiet crowd of 2,509 at the Spokane Arena.
“They struggled, but we did what we had to do,” WSU coach Tony Bennett said. “We got to play against a lot of zone, which we don’t see often. And we got to give some guys who played a lot of minutes yesterday some rest.
“We got to use some different rotations, and give some of our inexperienced players some minutes, something that is important, and hard to find, during the season.”
No Cougar starter played more than 22 minutes and 6-foot-10 posts Aron Baynes (four points, nine rebounds) and Robbie Cowgill (six and three) played 15 and 12, respectively.
“It’s kind of hard with the size advantage we had,” Baynes said. “We could have flashed to the ball and gotten an easy shot any time we wanted. But we were patient, worked the ball and got even better shots.”
Senior wing Kyle Weaver put his athleticism on display, slashing to the basket for a team-high 13 points while point guard Taylor Rochestie showed off his passing skills with five assists, a couple the no-look variety.
But it was the Cougar bench that allowed WSU (5-0) to hold an opponent to the lowest point total in the shot-clock era — and the lowest since Washington State College defeated Idaho 48-23 in 1948.
“The second unit has been doing a real good job defending at practice,” Bennett said. “We challenged them to do the same today. We told them they were going to get some extended minutes and they needed to do what they do at practice.”
They did. The Cougars led 34-17 at the half — the fewest first-half points they’ve given up this season — then shut out the Devils (0-6) for the first 6 minutes, 49 seconds of the second half. With the score 47-17, Bennett changed up the rotation.
Freshman Stephen Sauls played a season-high 22 minutes and took advantage, hitting 4 of 6 shots en route to 12 points. Reserve center Caleb Forrest played 18 minutes and tied Weaver with 13 points, including a reverse jam late in the first half.
“I’ll tell you what impressed me is they can continue to play in a game like that,” said MVSC coach James Green. “From our standpoint, we don’t want to be on that side of it, but it’s hard to be on the other side and keep playing.
“You have to give them credit … obviously it was no match and for them to keep their focus, and do the things they have to do in a game like that, that’s what impressed me.”
If you want to find a negative it would have to be the Cougs’ struggle from beyond the arc again. Friday Against Montana, WSU was just 3 of 12 from long range. Against MVSC’s combination of zones and man, the Cougars were even worse, missing 12 of their first 13 and finishing 3 of 15, part of 48 percent overall shooting. The Devils would have loved that percentage, as they missed all of their 15 attempts, shooting just 28 percent overall.
The Cougars made up for the poor outside shooting by getting to the free-throw line 30 times (hitting 24). But that was part of the plan.
“We are attacking the rim,” Weaver said. “As coach said, when your shot’s not falling, you have to find other ways to score. We were aggressive and got to the basket.”
Montana 59, Air Force 57: The Grizzlies led 10-0 early and 37-21 at the half. They built the lead to 44-21 right after halftime. Then they didn’t score for nearly 7 minutes. And the Falcons did, putting together a 15-0 run to get within eight.
But, though Air Force pulled to within one (52-51) with 1:30 left on Anwar Johnson’s drive, it never got the lead as Cameron Rundles pulled up from 22 feet and nailed a 3-pointer with 1:04 remaining. The Falcons’ Andrew Henke was called for a carry on the next possession, Matt Martin hit two free throws and UM ultimately survived.
Johnson and Henke led Air Force (5-1) with 19 and 14 points respectively, while Martin (15) and Rundles (13) paced Montana (4-2).
The tournament finishes today. Washington State will face Air Force at 2:30, with Mississippi Valley State and Montana meeting at noon.
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