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December 4, 1997

PULLMAN, Wash. -- Washington State, which scored 10 of the game's first 11 points, never trailed as the Cougars handled visiting Gonzaga 85-70 before 3,702 fans at Friel Court Thursday night.

The Cougars (4-2 overall), coming off a rocky road trip at the San Juan Shootout last week, put Gonzaga (6-2 overall) away with an array of fast break baskets and some difficult pressure defense, especially on the perimeter. The Bulldogs, who entered the game hitting nearly 50 percent of their 3-point shots, converted just 8 of 24 attempts from behind the arc.

Carlos Daniel posted his second double-double of the season with team highs of 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Cougars. Chris Crosby had 17 points with a pair of 3-point baskets and Rodrigo de la Fuente had 15 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Gonzaga's Matt Santangelo led all scorers with 24 points, but made just 2 of 6 3-point attempts. The Bulldogs shot a season-low 40.7 percent from the field.

"We had something to prove to a lot of people and ourselves as a team," said Daniel. "We went at it as hard as we possibly could."

A first half jump shot by Santangelo with 2:30 left cut WSU's lead to 34-33, but a dunk by Daniel on an offensive putback started the Cougars on an 8-0 run to close the half with a nine-point advantage.