Men's basketball: Cougars maul MVSU, 76-25

Men's basketball: Cougars maul MVSU, 76-25

Mississippi Valley State's Eric Petty (34) draws a foul from Washington State's Abe Lodwick, left, during the second half of the game.

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Story Published: Nov 16, 2008 at 9:40 AM PDT

Story Updated: Nov 21, 2008 at 5:47 AM PDT

By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS, Associated Press Writer

PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) - Aron Baynes scored 14 points as Washington State mauled Mississippi Valley State 76-25 in its season opener on Saturday.

Seven freshmen played for Washington State (1-0), but the Cougars looked good despite graduating the heart of a team that put together consecutive 26-win seasons.

Mississippi Valley (0-2), which lost just 80-64 at No. 15 Arizona State on Friday, looked virtually helpless, shooting just 16.7 percent and being outrebounded 53-19.

The 25 points they scored was one lower than in last year's 71-26 loss to WSU, and is the lowest point total by a WSU opponent since 1948. Washington State scored the first 28 points in the game.

"It's clear that Mississippi Valley State had an off-night," WSU coach Tony Bennett said. "I don't want to make too big a deal of it."

Caleb Forrest added 13 points for Washington State. Freshmen Klay Thompson, Marcus Capers, Abe Lodwick and DeAngelo Casto got plenty of playing time on a team with just two returning starters.

Dick Bennett, who began the job of rebuilding the Cougars six years ago, traveled from Wisconsin to watch the game.

Asked if the Cougars played better when his father was in the building, Tony laughed: "Pops is staying with me. I told them, 'Let's be sure to play good defense."'

Washington State took a 28-0 lead in the first 11 minutes. The Delta Devils missed their first 15 shots and were scoreless until Dwayne Harmason's jumper with 8:26 left in the first. He finished with eight points, while Tashan Newsome led them with nine points.

Washington State led 41-11 at halftime. For the Delta Devils, it was a slight improvement over the nine points they scored in the second half to WSU last season. The Delta Devils recovered from that loss to finish 17-16 and advanced to the NCAA tournament, where they lost to UCLA in the first round.

Washington State shot 55 percent in the game, making 26-of-47 shots. Capers led them with nine rebounds.

The second half was more of the same, as WSU opened with an 18-2 run for a 59-13 lead with 14 minutes left.

Washington State has nine freshmen on its roster, tied for most in the nation.

Thompson, son of former NBA star Mychal Thompson, started at guard in his first college game and made 3-pointers on his first two shots. The last time a true freshman started a season opener for the Cougars was in 2004, when Kyle Weaver scored six points. Nik Koprivica was the last freshman to start any game for WSU, in 2006.

Bennett is 15-0 in November in his third season.

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