Experience tells Bennett not to overlook L-C State

PULLMAN — Nine days remain before the Washington State University men’s basketball team takes the floor for the first game of the regular season against Montana State, on the eve of football’s Apple Cup.

But before they move on to the games that count in the standings, the Cougars have a tuneup, an exhibition at 7 tonight against visiting Lewis-Clark State College on Friel Court.

“We need to start playing. It’s coming,” WSU coach Dick Bennett said. “There’s a lot of work we have to do. I don’t know that we’re all that ready, but at some point you have to play to get ready.”

Bennett knows his team won’t face a task as easy as in might seem on the surface in tonight’s exhibition.

LCSC is coming off of a 31-6 season that included a Frontier Conference championship and a run to the Sweet 16 of the NAIA national tournament.

Bennett has plenty of experience over his coaching career at that level, having led Wisconsin-Stevens Point to three NAIA tournaments in his first stop as a collegiate coach.

“I coached at the NAIA level, and I know how good those teams are,” he said. “In fact, I remember beating Division I teams when I was at a Division III team. So this team could certainly come in here and beat us.”

The Cougars have taken the court once against another team, having played a controlled scrimmage with Eastern Washington over the weekend. In that arena, Bennett was able to play everyone on his roster.

But he said tonight’s opponent presents enough problems that he won’t likely be as generous to the players at the end of his bench. The last thing Bennett wants is to start the season off with a negative result.

“I would like to have everyone play, but at the same time, I think we’re going to be challenged by this team and I don’t want to play everybody at the expense of looking bad,” he said. “We’re not prepared for everything, but we’ve at least addressed most of the issues.”