PULLMAN — Josh Hawkinson posted career highs of 26 points and 15 rebounds and DaVonte’ Lacy scored 25 points to lead Washington State to an 80-68 victory over Idaho State on Friday night.
Lacy sank 6 of 9 shots from 3-point range in the second half after going 0 for 4 from beyond the arc in the first half for the Cougars (1-2). Que Johnson added 12 points for WSU, and Ny Redding had 10.
Chris Hansen led Idaho State (0-3) with 28 points. Jeffrey Solarin added 10 points.
Lacy’s 3-pointers helped Washington State pull away midway through the second half. The Cougars led 32-31 at halftime.
Both teams hit season highs for points and field-goal shooting percentage after ranking among the nation’s worst team in both statistics coming into the game. Idaho State shot 48.2 percent, and WSU hit 40 percent in new coach Ernie Kent’s first win.
Kent is in his first season coaching with the Cougars since being fired after 13 years at Oregon at the end of the 2009-10 season.
Both teams struggled with their shooting in the opening half. Lacy hit just 1 of 6 field-goal attempts, including 0 for 4 on 3-pointers, and scored four points in the opening half. He wound up 7 for 15 from the floor, including 6 for 13 on treys.
Hawkinson, a sophomore forward, made his first start after recording his first career double-double in Monday’s loss at Texas Christian. Hawkinson hit 10 of 15 shots from the field and all six of his free throws.
TIP-INS
Idaho State: The Bengals are 0-22 against current Pac-12 Conference teams since winning 62-57 at Oregon in 1986-87. Idaho State is 1-7 all-time against the Cougars, with four straight losses.
Washington State: The Cougars have won 25 consecutive home openers in Pullman since losing 60-53 to Brigham Young in 1982-83. The Cougars lost their 2001-02 home opener to Colorado State in Spokane.
UP NEXT
Idaho State hosts Utah Valley on Wednesday.
Washington State plays UC Santa Barbara on Thursday at the Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage.
