Cougars dismantle Bobcats

PULLMAN — At first, it appeared Washington State University had forgotten it wasn’t supposed to score all that much.

The Cougars put up 43 points in the first half alone – more than they scored in three full games last season – en route to a fairly easy 59-42 non-conference home win over Montana State in the season opener before 4,072 fans at Friel Court.

The Cougars came out shooting and passing well, but as the final would indicate, the second half was a different story.

WSU made up for the unusually high-scoring, first-half effort by starting the second 1 of 16 from the floor. The Cougars didn’t record their first points of the second half until 5:52 had elapsed. In that time, however, Montana State managed just five points, so the lead was never in serious jeopardy.

Still, it took WSU 15-plus minutes to score 10 points in the second half, a feat that took less than five in the first half.

“We aren’t as good as we played early and we aren’t as bad as we played late,” head coach Dick Bennett said. “You saw some good basketball in the first half and some horrid basketball in the second half. I don’t think we’ve ever been that far ahead, and that may have been one of the problems.

“Now we have a reason to go back to work.”

The Cougars ended up hitting 39 percent from the floor for the game – 51.4 percent in the first half, 20.8 percent in the second. But they still made enough nice plays down the stretch to keep the lead at no less than 11 the whole time. With just less than two minutes left, WSU pulled in two offensive rebounds and drained 50 seconds off the clock, finishing the possession with a 3-pointer from the top of the key by freshman Daven Harmeling, who scored 10 in 13 minutes off the bench in his first game.

Thomas Kelati was the team’s high scorer with 12 points, all of which came in the first half. Bobcat guard Branden Miller led his team with 12 points as well.

“The first half of the first game – we were just pumped up,” Kelati said of the fast start. “I think we just relaxed after that.”

Bennett decided to go with a three-guard look instead of three forwards since Shami Gill was out with a hip injury. Isaiah Simmons benefited by stepping into the starting lineup and having one of the best games of his career.

Previously, Simmons had a career high of three rebounds, but he notched a team-best eight against the Bobcats.

“Coach, he told me he wants me to play strong defense and rebound the ball,” said the 6-foot-2 Simmons. “I had that on my mind.”

It didn’t end up making a difference in strategy or the final score, but the official score was off by a point for the final 7 minutes of the first half before it was corrected. Montana State’s Casey Durham scored on a backdoor layup to make the score 33-20, but the Bobcats were credited with three points instead of two.

WSU plays one more home game, against Georgia Southern on Wednesday, before hitting the road for six of the last seven non-conference games. With that in mind, the Cougars are more than happy to walk away with a 1-0 record.

“We shot it so well in the first half. Had we not shot it well it would have been a tough game to win,” Bennett said. “With the schedule we have, I’ll take the win.”

WSU 59, Montana State 42

Montana State (0-1)—Dissly 3-6 0-0 9, Pratt 0-1 0-0 0, Moss 3-10 2-3 8, Miller 5-10-0 12, Brown 0-1 1-3 1, Durham 2-5 2-2 7, Woodall 1-2 0-1 3,olmes 0-0 0-0 0, Durr 0-0 0-0 0, Jefferson 0-5 0-0 0, Towsley 1-2-0 2. Totals 15-42 5-9 42.

Washington State (1-0)—Schlatter 2-7 0-0 4, Simmons 3-6 0-0 6, Varem 3-8 0-0 6, Kelati 4 -11 1-1 12, Weaver 3-11 0-1 6, Akognon 2-5 2-2 8, Green 0-0 0-0 0,Harmeling 3-5 2-2 10, Cowgill 3-6 1-2 7. Totals 23-59 6-8 59.

Halftime—Washington St. 43, Montana St. 26. 3-point goals—Montana St. 7-18 (Dissly 3-5, Moss 0-2, Miller 2-5, Durham-4, Woodall 1-2), Washington St. 7-17 (Schlatter 0-1, Varem 0-1,Kelati 3-7, Weaver 0-1, Akognon 2-4, Harmeling 2-3). Fouled out—none. Rebounds—Montana St. 31 (Moss 7), Washington St. 36 (Simmons 8). Assists—Montana St. 10 (Miller 3), Washington St. 15 Simmons 4). Total fouls—Montana St. 14, Washington St. 17.—4,072.