Ike Iroegbu had 16 points and seven rebounds as Washington State beat cross-border rival Idaho, 61-48, Wednesday night at Beasley Coliseum in the 271st meeting between the schools separated by less than 10 miles.
Washington State (5-4) scored the first four points of the game, never trailed and led by as many as 18 points in the second half.
“When the emotion is there, our spirits are tapped into and we play at a different level,” Ernie Kent said. “I thought we played at a different level in this game. That’s what we did to keep doing. That’s been the trick with this team.”
Bouncing back from his 4-point outing against New Orleans, freshman guard Malachi Flynn added 12 points before getting into foul trouble.
The Cougars shot 39.1 percent from the field (18-46). Josh Hawkinson registered his 47th career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
“They switched up their defense so much, it didn’t give one guy an opportunity to take over the game,” Kent said. “They kept us guessing. That allowed us to share the ball and different guys stepped up at different times to knock down shots. We were poised in taking what they gave us and didn’t try to force too much. We did a good job executing the game plan.”
Washington State snapped a two-game losing streak to the Vandals in the oldest continuous rivalry west of the Mississippi. Wednesday marked the 111th consecutive season the Cougars and Vandals have met.
Idaho (4-4), coming off a win against UC Davis, shot just 25.8 percent from the field. Victor Sanders led the Vandals with 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting, and was the only Idaho player to score in double figures.
Sanders and Pat Ingram (2-5 FG) were the lone Idaho players with multiple field goals.
“We have struggled the last two years trying to guard them,” Kent said. “I feel we’re starting to make some progress. I thought we played terrific defense in the game. We did a good job forcing them to have guys take some shots and keeping the ball out of the hands of the guys who can really shoot. We had a few mistakes we need to clean up, but this team has growth potential and the potential to play at a consistent level.”
Down 11 points at the half (36-25), the Vandals never got within single digits in the second half as they went seven minutes without scoring. Washington State also went scoreless for five-plus minutes after halftime.
BIG PICTURE: Washington State ended a four-game home stand with two wins and two losses, and have three games left before conference play begins. After coming in last place in the Pac-12 last season, the Cougars are looking to put together some momentum before they face Washington on Jan. 1 to open conference play.
UP NEXT: Washington State travels to face Kansas State at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, MO on Saturday afternoon. Tip is 5 p.m. PT.
NEXT FIVE GAMES:
Dec. 10 vs. Kansas State (at Kansas City), 5 p.m. (Fox Sports KC)
Dec. 17 SANTA CLARA, 1 p.m. (Pac-12 Network)
Dec. 21 SACRAMENTO STATE, 6 p.m. (Pac-12 Network)
Jan. 1 at Washington, 5:30 p.m. (ESPNU)*
Jan. 4 vs. Oregon State (at Spokane), 8 p.m. (Pac-12 Network)*
* Pac-12 Conference game
