PULLMAN, Wash. -- After a poor defensive showing against
Boise State this week, Washington State coach Tony Bennett
challenged his team to establish an identity.
Friday night the Cougars did, as a balanced offense matched with
a tenacious defense.
"We were challenged on defense and that's what we came out to
do," said Aron Baynes, who had 12 points and eight rebounds to
lead No. 9 Washington State to a 74-43 rout of Idaho.
Baynes was one of six Cougars to score in double figures in a
physical game against a scrappy but outmanned Idaho team.
"When you have six guys in double figures, you really like
that," Bennett said. "I thought we took the right shots, for the
most part. We came out in the second half and defended well and
extended the lead."
"We scored in a variety of ways, which I always like to see,"
Bennett said.
Derrick Low, scoreless in the first half because of fouls,
scored 12 points and Robbie Cowgill, Taylor Rochestie, Kyle Weaver
and Daven Harmeling each had 10 for the Cougars (3-0), who jumped
out to an 8-0 lead and never trailed.
WSU took a 36-24 lead at the half and hit 24 of 47 shots from
the field in the game. Idaho shot 35.2 percent from the floor
(19-for-54) and was successful on just 1 of 6 free-throw tries. WSU
hit 23-of-27 free throws.
Jordan Brooks led Idaho (1-2) with 14 points and five rebounds.
WSU's defense held the Vandals scoreless for the first 6 minutes
and Idaho went scoreless for large chunks of the game.
The Vandals put together a 10-2 run midway through the second
period, but Rochestie hit a pair of free throws to make it 58-38.
After Idaho climbed to 15-11 on Darin Nagle's jam with about 9
minutes remaining in the first half, WSU went on an 11-0 run over
the next 3½ minutes.
Cowgill said the Cougars were embarrassed by their defensive
play Tuesday in an 86-74 win at Boise State. "I felt the defense
was there tonight," he said.
"We wanted to establish the defense first and prove to
ourselves we were a better defense than we showed at Boise,"
Cowgill said.
The Cougars were the second Top 25 team Idaho played this week.
The Vandals lost to No. 14 Gonzaga 80-43 on Tuesday.
"We saw two really good basketball teams," Idaho coach George
Pfeifer said. "We can find some positive glow with the fact that
we need to get better."
Brooks, who came to Idaho after playing on two junior college
championship teams, said the Cougars appeared to be a bit better
than Gonzaga.
"I think WSU is a little tighter. They know how to get their
shots. They know who to get the ball to," he said.
The Cougars have dominated the cross-border series in recent
years, winning five straight and 10 of the last 11 meetings. Idaho
last won 62-58 in the 2002-03. The Cougars lead the all-time series
156-107.
"Idaho, I'll say this about them, they're very scrappy and
physical," Bennett said.