Advertisement
basketball Edit

MBK: Cougs host Palouse rival EWU Saturday in Beasley

Washington State has one more non-conference tuneup before Pac-12 play starts.

The Cougars host Palouse rival Eastern Washington Saturday night at Beasley Coliseum looking to improve on a sluggish offensive performance in the opener against Texas Southern Wednesday night in Pullman.

WSU overcame frigid 28 percent shooting (14-50) from the field in rallying for a 56-52 victory over Texas Southern. Isaac Bonton led the Cougars with 28 points, but he needed 25 shots to get there, connecting on seven. The rest of the WSU team combined for just seven field goals.

WSU also committed 20 turnovers and had zero bench points.

In short, there's plenty to improve on as they prepare to face the Eagles, who compete in the Big Sky Conference.

WSU faces Eastern Washington for the first time in the regular season since 2012. WSU is riding a five-game win streak in the 66-game series which dates back to 1907.

While the two teams haven't met in the regular season in nearly a decade, they have faced off in preseason scrimmages, including last season with WSU taking a 96-75 win at Cheney.

Overall, the Cougars are 55-11 all-time against their regional rival, including just two losses since 1952. The last loss came in 1997 when the Eagles squeaked out an 83-82 win in the Tri-Cities.

Saturday's matchup is the season opener for the Eagles, who had to postpone their scheduled Wednesday contest due to Covid concerns. The Eagles were picked to repeat as Big Sky champs after coming off their most successful season in program history with 23 wins.

Jacob Davison was selected as the preseason MVP and was joined by junior Kim Aiken Jr. on the six-person preseason All-Big Sky team.

Advertisement
Advertisement