Postgame notes and quotes from WSU's win...

[britton ransford]

Here's game notes from Washington State's 108-99 win over Oregon, which moved them to 3-1 in Pac-12 play and 9-7 overall.

GAME NOTES:
Sophomore Ike Iroegbu tied his career high with 20 points. He also had 20 points at Gonzaga last season as a freshman.Senior DaVonte Lacy finished with 24 points. He now has 1,302 career points and ranks No. 13 on WSU's all-time scoring list having passed Carlos Daniel (1995-98) and Derrick Low (2005-08).Sophomore Josh Hawkinson returned to double figures with 26 points to go with a game-high 13 rebounds. It marked Hawkinson's 10th double-double of the season.WSU scored a season-high 57 points, most first half points in over 15 years (complete records unavailable).Oregon's 52 first-half points mark a season-high by a WSU opponent.WSU's 108 points marked the most points it has scored in the series.Junior Brett Boese scored a career-high 16 points, eclipsing his previous high of 13 set earlier this season against UC Santa Barbara.Hawkinson's 26, Lacy's 24 and Iroegbu's 20 mark just the first time three Cougars have scored 20-plus in the same game this season.All nine Cougars to see action scored for WSU.Senior Dexter Kernich-Drew finished with 3 points, his first points since scoring 3 at Stanford, Jan. 2.WSU's 3-1 Pac-12 start is the best since starting 4-1 during the 2007-08 season.WSU's 108 points are its most this season and most since scoring 114 against Grambling State, Dec. 29, 1998.WSU's 108 points are the second-most scored in a conference game. The most is 111 against Arizona, March 2, 1995 in two overtimes. It's their most in a Pac-12 overtime or regulation game.
OFFICIAL BOX SCORE:

(via WSU Athletics)



This post was edited on 1/15 11:30 PM by Britton Ransford

 

[britton ransford]

Ernie Kent was on the Pac-12 Networks postgame show and talked about the Cougars' win over Oregon tonight.

(How gratifying is it for you to get a win against the Ducks?) "You know, there was a lot of build up talking about that and honestly understand that I did not look at that as a game against my old team. That emotion may come coming back to Eugene and having to play in Matthew Knight Arena and knowing all those fans are there and friends. Then you'll feel that. This game was about Washington State conquering another hurdle. We conquered the road and played very well in our last two games. This team needed to handle the adversity of coming home with the students coming back to campus, academic stuff, understanding that adversity and to conquer that against a very good basketball team, that's the focus and the only focus, and we were able to do that."

(How many fans do you think you'll have on Saturday?) "Well, with 22,000 students here that are literally sitting four blocks away on college hill, I would hope that they would make the journey down here to this building because this team is growing up right before their eyes. They're a special group the way they play, the energy, the passion they play with. They're fun to coach, they're fun to watch and there's going to be some thrilling basketball games in this building. I continue to encourage the community, who have been great, and our student body to don't miss it, so come now because we're building and that old saying, 'if you build it, they will come,' well I think we've built it, so we need them here now because they're a part of this."

(How have you built this team to where it's at now?) "Number one, the time off. Any coach that's been at it 30-plus years, you need a sabbatical away from the game. Unfortunately, usually, they're forced, but it gave you a chance to get reenergized, heal your soul, heal your spirit and come back different once you take a little time out. Number two, I put together an outstanding basketball staff. Silvey Dominguez and Greg Graham, they've been with me and helped build St. Mary's, and it's still a championship program today. We put Oregon in place with those guys, too. If you look at what my staff has done, these kids have bought in. We've done it by putting our arms around them, giving them a lot of confidence and it's more parenting than it is coaching. We travel in coat and tie, we handle the academics of it, we do a lot of things and spend a lot of time with them away from basketball, and when you can get young people to believe and trust in you - that's the big key, they trust us and we trust them. They are allowing us to coach them and prepare them, and they're in a great place right now."

(On DaVonte Lacy's knee injury late in the game...) "No, he could have come back in the game. I thought the game was moving in the right direction. We had a group on the floor that was defending, able to knock down our free throws, and we'll get him in the ice tub tonight. Trust me, he'll be ready to go on Saturday. That's a big game for us."

 

[britton ransford]

Here's links to the post game video of Ernie Kent, DaVonte Lacy, Josh Hawkinson and Ike Ireogbu plus highlights.

Kent: http://www.wsucougars.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?id=3667179
Players: http://www.wsucougars.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?id=3667391
Highlights: http://www.wsucougars.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?id=3667196

(via WSUCougars.com)