Cougs Run Out Of Gas Against Gonzaga

The Washington State University men's basketball team came into Spokane undaunted by Gonzaga's home court advantage and proceeded to dominate the Bulldogs for 30 minutes of play, building up as much as a 15-point lead. But the Cougars ran out of gas in the last 10 minutes of the game and allowed Gonzaga to come back and steal a 74-69 victory. With the loss, the Cougars drop to 6-1 overall on the year.

The two teams felt each other out for the first four minutes of the game as both Gonzaga and the Cougars combined for a measly six points between them at the first media timeout. But with the Bulldogs leading, 4-2, Wazzu began to take control, jumping out to a 14-9 lead after a fast break dunk from sophomore guard Marcus Capers. Gonzaga closed to within two at 14-12 but Wazzu took off on a 14-0 run to give them a 26-12 lead. The Cougars then went scoreless for three minutes but the Bulldogs were unable to significantly close the gap and when Abe Lodwick hit a three ball from the corner, Wazzu had their biggest lead of the game at 35-20. Gonzaga closed to within 12 to trail 39-27 at halftime.

Wazzu continued to dominate the Bulldogs in the second half as they maintained a double digit lead through the first 10 minutes of the half. But Gonzaga eventually wore the Cougars down and finally cut the Cougars' lead under 10. Wazzu held off the Bulldogs for a few minutes longer but true freshman guard Reggie Moore's single free throw to give the Cougars a 64-63 lead would be the last time they would score until there was less than a minute left in the game. Gonzaga made a late 9-0 run before a late bucket by sophomore Klay Thompson and a last second trey by true freshman Xavier Thames would complete the scoring.

Four Cougars finished in double digits in scoring led by Thompson with 15 and followed by Thames with 11, Moore with 10 and sophomore DeAngelo Casto, who finished with a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Wazzu will continue their 2009-10 season on December 5 in Manhattan, Kansas when they will face Kansas State at 6 PM Pacific Time. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Northwest

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