Washington State begins Ken Bone era with easy victory

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PULLMAN — One game into the Ken Bone era of Washington State basketball, the new coach knows a little more about home-court advantage here.

Bone's Cougars cruised to a 94-66 victory over Mississippi Valley State, which arrived behind schedule at Friel Court because of heavy traffic coming into town on Dad's Weekend in the middle of an early-winter snowstorm.

The game began about 20 minutes late, and MVSU started even later. The Cougars had a 9-0 lead before the Delta Devils scored with 14:35 left before intermission, and it was 43-26 at the break.

"It felt like we warmed up for about an hour and 20 minutes," said sophomore Klay Thompson, referring to the delay.

WSU didn't shoot especially well — 46.9 percent — and sometimes got outquicked off the dribble by the shorter Delta Devils. But the Cougars had a big 50-25 rebounding advantage, led by sophomore Abe Lodwick with nine.

"I'm really excited," said Lodwick. "The last couple of years, I spent on the bench, watching [graduated] Daven Harmeling and Caleb Forrest doing the same things I'm trying to do."

The points scored, fittingly, were the most by the Cougars since they had 98 in March 2003. That was a month before the arrival of Dick Bennett, who began a six-year family coaching run, handing the reins to his son Tony halfway through. Bone hopes to implement a more up-tempo style.

Referring to WSU's 19 turnovers, Bone said, "I'm glad it wasn't on TV. To have Dick Bennett see it on TV back in Wisconsin, that'd be embarrassing."

Thompson led WSU with 20 points, showing an inclination to attack the basket more than in his freshman year. He shot nine free throws, compared to a high of four last season.

"We're trying to get him to be a more multidimensional scorer," Bone said, "not just a shooter."

Rainier Beach grad Reggie Moore, a freshman, started and had six assists for Washington State. Every scholarship Cougar played, so Bone has decided none will redshirt this year, including raw, 6-foot-10 rookie Steve Bjornstad of Columbia River High.

"DeAngelo has the bad knee, James Watson's been out 250 days since he's arrived here [because of injury], and Charlie Enquist is not very experienced," said Bone. "We feel there might come a time when we need Steve Bjornstad to help us out."

Bud Withers: 206-464-8281 or bwithers@seattletimes.com

WASHINGTON ST. 94, MVSU 66

MVSU (0-1) — M.Holmes 0-3 0-0 0, J.Holmes 1-2 4-4 6, Newsome 5-10 2-2 14, Behling 2-6 2-2 8, Burwell 0-4 0-0 0, Donald 0-1 0-0 0, Mayo 4-7 0-0 11, Mack 1-1 0-0 3, Cheeks 3-7 1-2 8, Jackson 3-7 3-4 12, Studivant 1-3 0-1 2, Lamb 0-0 0-0 0, Cox 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 21-54 12-15 66.

WASHINGTON ST. (1-0) — Casto 6-9 6-7 18, Lodwick 1-6 2-2 4, Capers 4-6 2-2 10, Thompson 5-11 8-9 20, Moore 2-7 5-6 10, Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Koprivica 4-8 0-1 9, Thames 3-6 1-2 7, Motum 2-2 0-2 5, Bjornstad 0-1 0-0 0, Allen 1-3 0-0 3, Loewen 0-0 0-0 0, Harthun 1-4 0-0 2, Enquist 1-1 4-4 6. Totals 30-64 28-35 94.

Halftime — Washington St. 43-26. Three-point goals — MVSU 12-31 (Jackson 3-5, Mayo 3-5, Behling 2-4, Newsome 2-7, Mack 1-1, Cheeks 1-4, Cox 0-1, Donald 0-1, Burwell 0-1, M.Holmes 0-2), Washington St. 6-20 (Thompson 2-5, Motum 1-1, Koprivica 1-3, Allen 1-3, Moore 1-4, Lodwick 0-2, Harthun 0-2). Fouled out — Studivant. Rebounds — MVSU 25 (J.Holmes 4), Washington St. 50 (Lodwick 9). Assists — MVSU 8 (Cheeks 4), Washington St. 20 (Moore 6). Total fouls — MVSU 28, Washington St. 17. Technical — Washington St. Bench. A — 9,188.