Noah Williams scored 16 points to lead six Cougars who finished in double figures in scoring as visiting Washington State cruised to a 109-61 victory over Idaho in the “Battle of the Palouse” on Thursday in Moscow, Idaho.
Washington State (4-0) turned the schools’ meeting for the 114th straight year — making it the sport’s oldest continuous rivalry west of the Mississippi River — into a one-sided affair by going on an 18-2 run midway through the first half.
Washington State led by as many as 50 in the second half enroute to its largest margin of victory in series history.
Michael Flowers and Mouhamed Gueye each had 13 points, Efe Abogidi and Ryan Rapp added 12 apiece and T.J. Bamba posted 11 points.
Gueye shot 6-for-7 from the floor, in addition to grabbing a team-high six rebounds, while Flowers was 5-for-7, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. Abogidi went 5-for-6 shooting, while Bamba went 4-for-6, with Rapp going 3-for-4 from the floor and 2-for-3 from distance. Williams shot 7-for-12.
The Cougars shot 60.6 percent (40-for-66) from the field, including going 10-for-22 on 3-point attempts, and outrebounded the Vandals 37-26.
Idaho (1-3) was led by Mikey Dixon’s 12 points on 2-for-9 shooting, while Ethan Kilgore and added eight points.
Leading 47-29 at halftime, Washington State took over where it left off. The Cougars opened the second half on a 15-6 run to take a 62-35 lead following Flowers’ 3-pointer with just under 14 minutes left in the game.
The Vandals struggled offensively. Idaho shot 30.5 percent (18-for-59) from the field, including 29.2 percent (7-of-24) from 3-point range. Idaho also struggled to take care of the ball, finishing with 13 turnovers while forcing the Cougars into just five miscues.
Washington State took the game over after Yusef Salih’s layup tied the game 8-8 with 14:34 left in the first half by going on an 18-2 run to take a 26-10 lead on Gueye’s jumper with 8:51 before halftime.
–Field Level Media
