Men's college basketball recap
MIKE MAYNARD | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 22 hours, 18 minutes AGO
MOSES LAKE — Men's basketball is well underway in Washington as several teams are battling it out in their respective leagues. See below where your favorite programs stand.
Gonzaga (16-1) vs Loyola Marymount
The Zags are currently on a nine-game win streak after defeating Loyola Marymount 82-47 on Sunday.
“Off to a slow start there, that second group came in and really flipped the script and that's who we are and we're doing that. That's a good sign and great defense leads to getting us out on the (fast)break and then we can be great on offense when we play like that,” Head Coach Mark Few said.
After taking a 33-19 lead in the first half, the Zags offense took it up a notch with 49 points in the second half. Graham Ike had 16 points and seven rebounds. Braden Huff and Jalen Warley also brought in a lot of rebounds to help the Bulldogs dominate possession time.
Gonzaga hosted Santa Clara on Thursday, results for this matchup were not available at the time of press.
Eastern Washington (2-12) at Idaho
The Eagles fell just short to the Vandals 84-81 on the road. Associate Head Coach Ryan Lundgren remained optimistic despite the loss, according to a statement by EWU Athletics.
“Tough loss, no question about it," Lundgren said. "But we had some really good things today, especially with our bench stepping up and making plays when they needed to.”
Kiree Huie led the Eagles with 16 points and 11 rebounds to record a double-double, while Isaiah Moses, Jojo Anderson, Alton Hamilton IV and Tyler Powell each finished in double figures. Moses paced Eastern early, scoring 12 of his points in the first half.
The Eagles traded punches with Idaho throughout a tightly contested second half. Huie controlled the glass and finished strong around the rim, while Moses and Johnny Radford delivered key buckets to keep the game within one possession down the stretch. Idaho, however, capitalized at the free-throw line in the final seconds, and Anderson's last-second three attempt came up short.
The Eagles returned home to take on the Montana State Bobcats on Thursday. Results for that game were not available at the time of press.
Central Washington (7-7) vs RV Northwest Nazarene
The Wildcats earned a statement 75-63 win at home over the Nighthawks Jan. 3. According to a statement by CWU Athletics, the Wildcats opened the game, going on an 11-2 run before NNU could answer. The 'Cats kept the pressure on, soon taking a double-digit lead.
The Nighthawks fought to cut down the lead, but CWU continued to find ways to score and kept the lead well out of reach. Clark used the last 2:03 in the half to put record nine points to give the Wildcats a 44-22 lead going into halftime.
Northwest Nazarene opened the second half with a rush that saw the Nighthawks cut the lead down to 11 points with 12:15 remaining. The Wildcats found ways to answer the push and kept a steady feed of points to keep the lead comfortable. The Nighthawks fought hard to close the margin, but the shots continued to go in CWU's direction until time expired with the Wildcats taking the decisive victory.
Washington State (8-9) vs Oregon State
The Cougars cruised to an 81-76 victory over Oregon State Jan. 4 to win their second straight game.
“All game today the ball was zipping around and then defensively just a little bit more talk and more urgency. Talk builds trust and that’s something we did a better job of today,” Head Coach David Riley said in a press conference.
ND Okafor and Jerone Morton each scored 13 points, alongside Eemeli Yalaho with 11 points. WSU controlled the key, outscoring Oregon State 34-26 in the paint and outrebounding the Beavers 38-25. Washington State punished OSU on the offensive glass, grabbing 14 offensive rebounds, led by Okafor with four, and scoring 15 second-chance points.
Oregon State made one final push in the final minutes, closing WSU's 20-point lead to within 10 points. However, WSU converted from the free throw line, finishing 7-of-7 in the four minutes and maintained a double-digit lead until the final buzzer.
The Cougars hit the road Saturday to play Saint Mary at 2 p.m.
University of Washington (9-6) at Purdue
The Huskies fell short on the road 81-73 to the fifth ranked Purdue Boilermakers, according to a statement by UW Athletics.
Franck Kepnang and Hannes Steinbach led a quartet of Huskies into double digit scoring. Steinbach led Husky scorers with 17 points.
Kepnang recorded his third career double-double and first since Dec. 5, 2023, putting up 10 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out late in the second half. Quimari Peterson notched 15 points and three assists. Zoom Diallo added 14 points and a career-high eight dimes — in the last three outings, the sophomore has dished out 22 assists.
Trailing by 23 in the second half, Washington used a late push to cut the Purdue lead to single digits with 3:10 left on the clock thanks to Peterson's season-high fifth three-pointer of the night. However, it was not enough as Purdue held off UW’s late comeback attempt.
The Huskies return to Seattle for a three-game swing, beginning with hosting Ohio State on Sunday, Jan. 11.
ARTICLES BY MIKE MAYNARD
Men's college basketball recap
MOSES LAKE — Men's basketball is well underway in Washington as several teams are battling it out in their respective leagues. See below where your favorite programs stand. Gonzaga (16-1) vs Loyola Marymount The Zags are currently on a nine-game win streak after defeating Loyola Marymount 82-47 Sunday.
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Wardenaar sinks 41 points as Knights earn blowout win
ROYAL CITY — The Royal Knights (7-1) stormed the hardwood to defeat the Naches Valley Rangers 75-29 Tuesday. Head Coach Tim Ravet said the win was good to get the team back in a rhythm after suffering a loss earlier this week. “To come out and at least play inspired and hard was a good step in the right direction to get our wheels back underneath us, and hopefully continue to build (momentum), and to get ready for when we play them again,” Ravet said. After a steady start in the first quarter that saw the Knights take a 13-6 lead, they turned up the heat in the second quarter to take a commanding 29-9 lead over the Rangers. Strong paint presence by Grant Wardenaar and facilitating by Fischer Livingston helped Royal dominate on the court. In the second half, they continued to build that momentum by outscoring Naches Valley 46-20 to secure the win.