College Basketball Tonight

Montana at Washington State

The Cougars (3-1) entertain Montana (6-1) in a 7 p.m. non-conference game at Friel Court.

At a glance

WSU, coming off a disappointing 77-75 loss to host Syracuse in last Saturday’s Carrier Classic finals, hopes to bounce back against a solid Montana team that expects to figure strongly into the Big Sky Conference title race. All five of Grizzly coach Blaine Taylor’s starters are averaging in double figures. Shawn Samuelson, a burly 6-foot-6 senior forward will present some matchup problems for the Cougars, along with 6-10 junior center Brent Smith. “Montana is a really good team,” said WSU coach Kevin Eastman. “I think they can compete with a number of teams in the Pac-10. It’s going to be a good test for us because they stick it inside so well. We’re going to have to do a good job defending the post.” The Cougars were a bit lax in that area against Syracuse, but neither Samuelson nor Smith bring as much to the table as John Wallace, Syracuse’s 6-7 senior all-American candidate, who burned WSU for 24 points and eight rebounds. In addition, the Cougars should have distinct advantage on the perimeter, where Montana has some perplexing matchup problems of its own against the quickness and penetrating abilities of Isaac Fontaine, Donminic Ellison and Shamon Antrum.

Leaders

Montana: Shawn Samuelson, 14.9 ppg, 8.6 rpg; Brent Smith 12.7 ppg; Kirk Walker 12.6 ppg, 4.5 apg. WSU: Isaac Fontaine, 19.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg; Mark Hendrickson, 17.5 ppg, 10.5 rpg; Donminic Ellison, 13.0 ppg, 5.5 apg. Canisius: Darrell Barley, 20.7 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 5 apg; Micheal Meeks, 13.3 ppg, 9.3 rpg; Mickey Frazier 11.3 ppg.

TV/Radio: KXLY (920 AM) Spokane, KCLX (1450 AM) Colfax, KWSU (1250 AM) Pullman, KCVL (1240 AM) Colville, KZFN (106.0 FM) Moscow, KORD (870 AM) Tri-Cities, KBSN (1470 AM) Moses Lake, KKRT (900 AM) Wenatchee. 6:30 p.m.

, DataTimes