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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

‘Fat Boy’ Gets Off Ground, Helps Cougs Whip Vandals

News flash: Ike Fontaine dunked. On a 10-foot basket. During a game. Over somebody. Without the aid of platform shoes.

“Yeah, it was kind of crazy out there,” teammate Carlos Daniel marveled. “I didn’t think fat boy could get off the ground like that. But we finally got him one.” <,,

The 6-foot-4 Fontaine, carrying about 15 fewer pounds than the 224 he labored under last season, threw down his first dunk in two seasons Saturday as Washington State overcame a weak start to defeat Idaho 69-57 before a Friel Court crowd of 4,706.

With a season-high 27 points, Fontaine moved into third on WSU’s all-time scoring list, passing ex-teammate Mark Hendrickson, now a rookie with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Fontaine has 1,497 points, one more than Hendrickson, and needs 67 to pass Don Collins (1977-80). The senior guard is averaging 21.6 points per game this season, meaning he’ll need to average just 17.3 in WSU’s remaining 23 games to break the 1,894-point record set by Steve Puidokas (1974-77).

“I told Mark’s old roommate to call him up tonight and tell him I passed him,” Fontaine said. “Mark was commenting earlier, he said if I would have passed to him more my sophomore and junior year, he would be a little bit higher.”

While Fontaine stole the show against Idaho (3-4), scoring at will from everywhere but the 3-point line, WSU’s victory may have been keyed by freshmen Blake Pengelly, Beau Archibald and Chris Crosby.

The Cougars (6-1) trailed 9-0 with 13:43 left in the first half, largely because they were willing to settle for outside shots. Daniel, WSU’s junior forward, didn’t touch the ball on offense the first 6 minutes.

Needing a change, WSU coach Kevin Eastman turned to last year’s recruiting class. Seven minutes later, the Cougars led by 13.

Archibald, a rangy 6-7 wing, whose game is more “Hoop Dreams” than “Hoosiers,” needed less than a minute to score WSU’s first five points. Pengelly added a 3-pointer that pulled the Cougars within 9-8.

Crosby followed soon after with five straight points, including a 3 from the left wing, as WSU charged to a 23-10 lead with 5:11 left in the half.

Pengelly, a 5-10 point guard from Eugene, Ore., was also a factor on defense, preventing Idaho guard Derrick Elliott from driving to the basket. At one point, the pesky Pengelly even convinced Elliott to abandon a one-on-one fast break.

“I thought their three freshmen were the difference in the game,” Idaho coach Kermit Davis said. “They played with a lot of energy and almost jump-started Fontaine and Daniel.

“I really felt when we looked to our bench, we didn’t get better. They went to their bench and the three freshmen just kind of changed the energy level of their team. And then from there, we just couldn’t stop Fontaine.”

WSU senior forward Cameron Johnson grabbed 11 rebounds in 36 minutes - both career highs - while Daniel finished with 14 points and nine boards.

The Vandals, sparked by Jason Jackman’s three-point play, closed with a 12-2 run in the final 4 minutes - hardly enough to overcome their 37.3-percent shooting.

Washington St. 69, Idaho 57

Idaho (3-4) - Thompson 5-13 0-0 10, Byrne 1-1 0-0 2, Jackman 7-14 2-4 16, Rose 3-10 0-0 9, Baumann 2-7 0-0 6, Elliott 1-5 0-0 2, Harris 0-0 0-2 0, Turner 3-8 6-7 12, Wendt 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-59 8-13 57.

Washington St. (6-1) - Daniel 6-9 2-4 14, De La Suente 0-4 0-0 0, Johnson 1-4 0-0 2, Fontaine 10-14 7-8 27, Jackson 2-3 0-0 4, Pengelly 1-4 0-0 3, Archibald 3-7 0-0 7, Crosby 3-5 2-2 9, Slotemaker 1-2 1-2 3. Totals 27-52 12-16 69.

Halftime-Washington St. 33, Idaho 19. 3-Point goals-Idaho 5-14 (Rose 3-5, Baumann 2-6, Elliott 0-2, Wendt 0-1), Washington St. 3-16 (0-3, Fontaine 0-4, Pengelly 1-3, Archibald 1-4, Crosby 1-2). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Idaho 30 (Thompson 7), Washington St. 37 (Johnson 11). Assists Idaho 12 (Elliott 3), Washington St. 14 (Fontaine 4). Total fouls-Idaho 15, Washington St. 17. Technicals-Idaho bench. A-4,706.

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