LMU LIONS (8-5, 0-1) vs WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS (11-3, 1-0)
Monday, Dec. 30, 2024 at 6:32 p.m. PT (9:32 p.m. ET)
Spokane, Wash. at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena (12,210)

Cougar Radio Network
KXLY 920AM // KHTR 104.3FM // KTTH 770AM // KONA 610AM
Play-by-Play: Chris King // Analyst: Craig Ehlo

Television & Streaming: ESPN+
Play-by-Play: Greg Heister // Analyst: Ernie Kent // Producer: David Feldman

Opening Tips
1. The Cougars host their inaugural WCC home game at Spokane Arena in Spokane, Wash. Monday, Dec. 30 at 6:30 p.m. WSU and LMU have met in three-straight neutral-site tilts dating back to 1986 and have met just once since the turn of the century. WSU is 2-2 all-time against LMU with just one meeting since the turn of the century.
2. Coach David Riley has led the Cougs to an 11-3 start, the best start by a first-year WSU coach since Ken Bone started 11-3 in 2009-10. Tony Bennett boasted the best start in the 2006-07 Coug season at 12-2. Riley is the third Wazzu coach in school history to start his first season with 11 wins in 14 games.
3. WSU ranks top-30 in the country in five team categories: 10th in blocks per game (5.8), 18th in 2-point FG% (.598), 27th in FG% (.495), 27th in effective FG% (.574), and 30th in assists per game (17.4).
4. Nate Calmese leads WSU's active roster with 16.1 points, 4.6 assists, and 1.9 steals per game. The junior transfer sits fifth in the WCC in scoring, sixth in assists, and fourth in steals per game.
5. LeJuan Watts notched his fifth double-double, Dec. 21, finishing with 16 points and game-high 12 rebounds. Watts has scored in double figures 13 of 14 games, and ranks fourth in the WCC with 7.9 rpg.

LAST TIME OUT
Washington State defeated the Portland Pilots, 89-73, Saturday evening at Chiles Center in WSU's inaugural WCC game. Five Cougars scored in double figures, led by Ethan Price with a season-high 22 points to lead the Cougars, adding seven rebounds and five assists. LeJuan Watts had a game-high eight rebounds with 14 points. Nate Calmese added 18 points, five assists, and seven rebounds. Dane Erikstrup scored 11 points and ND Okafor matched a season-high with 12 points. Wazzu matched a season-high with 24 assists and shot a season-high 56% from 3-point range (14-of-25) The Cougars are 11-0 with 15+ assists and 7-0 when scoring at least 80 points.

PICK YOUR POISON
The Cougars have distributed scoring across the majority of the playing rotation with four active players averaging 10+ points through 14 games. At least four Cougs have scored in double figures nine times, while six different individuals have tallied 20-point performances. Nate Calmese sits fifth in the conference in scoring and LeJuan Watts ranks fourth in the WCC in rebounding.

SHARING THE ROCK
The Cougs dished out 24 assists in the win over Portland, Saturday, matching the season-high with the most single-game assists in six seasons. WSU is undefeated at 11-0 when tallying 15+ assists, most recently defeating Portland after dishing out 24 assists. In contrast, the Cougs are 0-3 when delivering fewer than 15 assists.

UP NEXT
The Cougars welcome the Dons of San Francisco in the second of three-consecutive home games. USF has never traveled to Pullman, previously hosting Washington State on two occasions. Wazzu traveled to San Francisco in March 2012, defeating the Dons in the College Basketball Invitational at War Memorial Gym. The game was the first meeting between the schools in 61 years after the inaugural game in 1950. WSU won both games with USF previously, while Coach David Riley has not faced the Dons as a head coach.

RIM PROTECTORS
The Cougar team leads the WCC and ranks 10th in the country with 5.8 blocked shots per game. WSU boasts two of the top four shot blockers in the conference with Okafor at second (1.8) and Erikstrup at fourth (1.4).

INJURY BUG BITES EARLY
Coach David Riley confirmed in December the successful shoulder surgeries of senior Cedric Coward and freshman Marcus Wilson, both of whom will miss the remainder of the 2024-25 season on a 4-6 month recovery timeline. Sophomore Rihards Vavers is out indefinitely, likely for the season, with broken bones in both hands. Isaiah Watts suffered a hand injury against Washington, Dec. 18, and will miss several weeks.

AT HOME IN SPOKANE
The Cougars hold an all-time record of 21-19 at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena dating back to 1995. The last time WSU played a conference game at Spokane Arena was a 75-62 win over Oregon State, Jan. 4, 2017 when the Cougs were led by today's TV analyst Ernie Kent. In 2011-12, Wazzu hosted both Oregon schools at Spokane Arena, and hold an all-time conference record of 2-1 in the Lilac City venue.

DIFFERENT KINDA COUGS
WSU is built different this season, regularly playing with four or all five men around the perimeter, a different look from the 2023-24 Cougs, which played with two bigs inside. The change has results in a higher 2-point field goal percentage, nearly 60%, and a larger portion of points coming from beyond the arc. The Cougars rank 18th nationally in 2-point FG percentage.

NONCONFERENCE SUCCESS
The Cougars concluded the nonconference schedule at 10-3, earning 10 nonconference wins for the first time since 2010-11, ultimately reaching the NIT semifinals with Klay Thompson. Coach David Riley became the first WSU first-year head coach since Ken Bone in 2009-10 to win 10 of his first 13 games. Riley became the fifth coach in Coug history to start 10-3 or better in his first season on the Palouse.

FLOOR GENERAL CALMESE
Nate Calmese, who began his college career as the Southland Conference Freshman of the Year at Lamar, has seen all his ballhandling statistics improve over three seasons, including increases in assists (+130%), steals (+58%), and rebounds (+32%).

THE PRICE IS RIGHT
Ethan Price, a senior transfer from Eastern Washington, has started all 114 games of his career for Coach Riley. The Englishman surpassed 1,000 career points during his junior season with the Eagles. Early this season, Price dished out his 200th career assist and the senior most recently surpassed 500 career rebounds to become the first Cougar player since Kyle Weaver (2004-08) to record at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, and 200 career assists. In the first WCC game at Portland, Price delivered his first 20-piece of the season with team-high 22 points, adding seven rebounds, and five assists.

EFFICIENT IN THE ARC
In the Nov. 18 win over Northern Colorado, the Cougars shot 76.7% from 2-point range, the highest single-game 2-point percentage by a Wazzu team since December 9, 2007, when the Cougs shot 76.7% from inside the arc against Portland State (26-40). WSU boasts the top effective FG team in the WCC with a .574 eFG%, 27th in Division-I as of Dec. 29.

TINKERING WITH TEMPO
The Cougs are averaging 81.5 points per game, second in WCC behind Gonzaga, and 60th nationally. The Cougars are 8-0 when scoring over 80 points. WSU got its only win when being held under 70 points in a 68-57 mudfight at Nevada, Dec. 2, in Reno.

'ZAY SETTLES AS A STARTER
Isaiah Watts, the only returning letterwinner from the 2023-24 roster, is on pace to quadruple his scoring, rebounding, assists, and steals output from his freshman season. The West Seattle sophomore has already eclipsed his freshman season totals in points, rebounding, steals, and assists. Three times Isaiah has surpassed 20 points, including a career-high 22 points against Eastern Wash. Zay made his first career start in place of an injured Cedric Coward, Nov. 26, grabbing a career-high five steals and remained in the starting lineup until an injury in his non-shooting hand against UW that will sideline him for several weeks.

TOMAS TEASES TALENT
With a short bench, true freshman Tomas Thrastarson made his first career start against Northern Iowa, Dec. 21, scoring a season-high seven points. The Icelandic native held on to the starting spot for the conference opener and played a season-high 29 minutes at Portland with six points and season-high five assists.

TRIPLE-DOUBLE THREAT
Head Coach David Riley has describe LeJuan Watts as a consistent threat for a recording a triple-double. The sophomore standout got the closest he's been as a Coug with six assists in a Dec. 7 win over Boise State. Watts has tallied five double-doubles and six double-digit rebounding games so far. Watts has led the Cougs in rebounding 10 times.

TRIO OF 20-PIECES
When Cedric Coward, Dane Erikstrup, and Isaiah Watts combined for 68 points against Eastern Washington, Nov. 21, they became the first Cougar trio to scored 20 points each in the same game in 3,598 days. The last WSU trio to achieve three 20-point games at once came Jan. 15, 2015 against Oregon when Josh Hawkinson, Ike Iroegbu, and DaVonte Lacy combined for 70 points.

DOWNTOWN DOWNPOURS
Wazzu had its best game of the season from beyond the arc against Eastern Washington, Nov. 21, hitting 16 triples at a 53% clip (16-of-30). It marked the most 3-pointers by the Cougs in a single game since setting the school record with 18 three-pointers in a win over Detroit Mercy, Nov. 25, 2022. Dane Erikstrup led Wazzu with six 3-pointers, becoming the first Coug since current Memphis Grizzlies' rookie Jaylen Wells made six triples in a win at No. 4 Arizona last February.

ERIKSTRUP EXCELLENCE
Dane Erikstrup scored a WSU career-high 24 points in WSU's win over his former team Eastern Washington, Nov. 21, becoming the fourth Coug this year with a 20-point game. The Beaverton, Oregon native also grabbed eight rebounds, setting a WSU career high, and has started every game as a Cougar. Erikstrup made a homecoming in the Cougars' inaugural WCC game, playing his 80th career Division-I game at Portland, Dec. 28.

OKAFOR BACK ON THE FLOOR
Junior ND Okafor, a transfer from California, played his first minutes as a Coug in the Nov. 11 win over Idaho. Okafor missed the first two games due to concussion protocol. In his Cougar debut, Okafor delivered a career-high 12 points, with six rebounds, a block, and a steal. In the Nov. 15 game against Iowa, Okafor pulled in five boards to eclipse 100 career rebounds. Against Fresno State, Okafor rejected a career-high three shots, and has established himself as the Cougs' premier rim protector. Okafor matched his season-high in the WCC opener at Portland, scoring 12 points.

COWARD NAMED WCC POTW
Cedric Coward was named WCC Player of the Week, Nov. 25, for the first time in his career after matching his D-I career-high with 30 points vs Northern Colorado, while committing zero turnovers, the first 30-point performance of the season by a Coug. The Fresno native followed with 22 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, two blocks, and a steal against Eastern Washington. However, Coward has not seen the floor since winning the award, out for the season following left shoulder surgery.

THE CENTURY MARK
When the Cougs defeated Portland State, 100-92, in the season opener, the Cougars eclipsed 100 points for the first time since beating Oregon State, 103-97 in overtime, Feb. 28, 2022, in Corvallis, Ore. It marked the first triple-digit performance at Beasley Coliseum since beating CSUN, 103-94, Nov. 27, 2018. WSU scored 100 points in regulation for the first time since beating Idaho 109-61, Nov. 18, 2021 in Moscow, Idaho.

COUGS PICKED FIFTH IN WCC
Entering the 2024-25 season as an affiliate member of the WCC, Wazzu was selected fifth in the preseason coaches poll. The last time a Riley team was selected fifth in the preseason poll, at EWU in 2022-23, his team rattled off an 18-game unbeaten streak on the way to a Big Sky Conference regular season championship.