WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS (2-3, 0-0 WCC) vs CHAMINADE SILVERSWORDS (2-1, 0-0 PACWEST)

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2025
4 p.m. HT / 6 p.m. PT
Lahaina, Maui, Hawai'i
Lahaina Civic Center 
Capacity: 2,400

COUGAR RADIO NETWORK
Seattle 770AM & 94.5FM 
Spokane 920AM & 100.7FM
Pullman 104.3FM | Tri-Cities 610AM
Derek Deis & Craig Ehlo

TV & STREAMING
ESPNU & ESPN App
Play-by-Play: Kanoa Leahey
Analyst: Sean Farnham
Producer: Joe McCoy

SERIES HISTORY
All-Time: 0-0
Record at Chaminade: 0-0 
First Meeting: N/A
Last Meeting: N/A

OPENING TIPS
1. Washington State travels to the Hawaiian island of Maui to participate in the 2025 Southwest Maui Invitational at Lahaina Civic Center, beginning Monday, November 24 and continuing through Wednesday. The Cougars will face Division-II host Chaminade in the opening round of the event, tipping off at 4 p.m. local (6 p.m. PT) on ESPNU.
2. The Cougars' participate in the Maui Invitational for the first time in program history. The event marks the eighth Hawaiian tournament for WSU, dating back to the 1973 Rainbow Classic under Coach George Raveling.
3. ND Okafor delivered a career-high 27 points and career-high eight rebounds in Wednesday's win over Southern Utah. The junior power forward finished 12-of-14 from the floor, the best percentage with as many field goal attempts by a Coug since at least 1996. Okafor, the team leader in blocks last season, is averaging 11.2 ppg and 5.6 rpg, while shooting 63.9% from the floor.
4. True freshman Ace Glass has wowed since dropping a team-high 17 points in his collegiate debut, adding a career-high 20 points in Wednesday's win over Southern Utah. The California kid is averaging 12.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg, and is shooting the ball at a .500 clip.
5. Sophomore Tomas Thrastarson has made a noticeable leap since his rookie campaign, comfortable attacking the basket. The Icelandic viking has matched or bested his career-high twice in four games, scoring 19 points in the win over St. Thomas. Thrastarson missed Wednesday's game with an ankle injury.

LAST TIME OUT
Washington State defeated Southern Utah, 98-74, Wednesday night in Beasley Coliseum. Redshirt-junior ND Okafor scored a career-high 27 points on 12-of-14 shooting. Ace Glass had a career-high 20 points, off the bench, shooting 8-of-13. Eemeli Yalaho poured in 14 points and 11 rebounds for his first career double-double. Jerone Morton added 10 points with five assists.

UP NEXT
The Cougars will face Texas or Arizona State in the second round of the Maui Invitational, Tuesday, November 25 at 3 or 5 p.m. PT.

EMMANUEL ENCHANTS
Transfer Emmanuel Ugbo (Boise State) led the Cougars in scoring twice and rebounding in three of the first four games, averaging 11.2 ppg and 5.4 rpg. In his WSU debut in the season opener versus Idaho, Ugbo matched his career high with 17 points and added a career-high eight rebounds. At Davidson, Ugbo earned his first Coug start, delivering 16 points and five rebounds. The Dutchman is shooting over 60% from the floor. Ugbo went down with an ankle injury two minutes into WSU's win over Southern Utah, Wednesday night, and did not return.

OKAFOR EFFICIENCY
Returning redshirt-junior ND Okafor delivered a career-high 27 points and career-high eight rebounds in his last outing. Okafor shot 12-of-14 from the floor, the best single-game percentage by a Coug with as many attempts since at least 1996. The Irishman is shooting a team-best 63.9% from the field. Last year, Okafor finished his sophomore season with a 62.3 field goal percentage, the fifth-best single-season percentage in program history. Okafor also led the team in blocks with 40 rejections last season, fourth in the WCC, on a team that finished 20th in the country in blocks per game. 

RETURN TO THE ISLANDS
The Cougars have previously competed in the Diamond Head Classic three times, and participated in the Rainbow Classic four times before that. In total, the Cougs hold a 10-11 record across seven multi-team events in Honolulu, dating back to the 1973 Rainbow Classic. The Cougs have reached the championship game three times, most recently in 2010 against Butler, but have never won a Hawaiian MTE. WSU has never participate in the Maui Invitational or played a game on any island other than Oahu.

FREE THROW PURITY
As a team, the Cougars are shooting 78.8 percent at the free throw line, top 40 in the country. WSU has gotten to the line 99 times in five games, sinking 78 charity shots, for an average 15.6 free throws per game on 19.8 attempts per game. Two Cougs, Ace Glass and Eemeli Yalaho, have yet to miss a free throw this season.

BENCH BUCKLES DOWN
The WSU bench scored a season high 49 points in Wednesday's win over Southern Utah, the second time this season with more than 40 Cougar bench points. The Cougs average 36.8 ppg from the rotation, outscoring opponent benches by an average of eight points per game.

SECOND CHANCE POINTS
Wazzu is more than doubling the number of second chance points compared to its opponents, scoring an average of 14.2 second-chance points per game on just 9.8 offensive rebounds per game. By comparison, the Cougs have limited their opponents to just 6.6 second-chance points per game and 33 total offensive rebounds allowed this season.

LINE IN THE SAND
Washington State opponents are averaging 78.8 points per game this season. When the Cougs hold their opponent under 80 points, they are 2-0. When the Cougs allow their opponent to score more than 80 points, Wazzu is 0-3. On the offensive end, the Cougars are 2-0 when shooting over 50% from the floor, and 0-3 when held under 45% shooting.

LAST REGULAR SEASON D-II OPPONENT
When the Cougars take the court against the Silverswords, Monday afternoon, it will be the first regular-season meeting against a Division-II opponent since November 15, 2016 when WSU hosted Central Washington at the Toyota Center in Kennewick, Washington. The Cougs beat CWU, 81-76  in Ernie Kent's third season on the Palouse.

TOMAS TURNS UP
Returning sophomore Tomas Thrastarson has turned heads with his offseason development after being named to the 2024-25 WCC All-Freshman Team, playing in 31 games with 11 starts, averaging 4.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg, and 19 blocks. In the season opener against Idaho, Thrastarson matched his career-high with 17 points and delivered a career-high 11-of-12 from the charity stripe. He broke his career high November 10, scoring 19 points, including 18 first-half points to lead WSU to its first win of the year. The Viking matched his career-high again with a team-high seven rebounds in the win over St. Thomas. Tomas did not play against Southern Utah, nursing an ankle injury that is described as day-to-day. 

ADRIA DISHES SPANISH FLARE
Incoming senior Adria Rodriguez, a member of Spanish second-division club Alicante, has shown is floor general prowess as the Cougs leading assister in all five games. The Catalonia kid is averaging 3.8 assists per game, including some eye-popping between-the-legs passes through heavy traffic. Adria has also led the team in steals in four of five games.

MAKE 'EM PAY
The Cougars are a perfect 11-of-11 on three-point plays this season, converting every and-1 attempt at the charity stripe. Eemeli Yalaho leads the team with three and-one conversions.

RILEY RUNS IT BACK
David Riley began his second season at WSU after finishing his first season on the Palouse 19-15 with a postseason berth to the inaugural College Basketball Crown. The selection marked a third postseason in four seasons for Coach Riley, and fourth-consecutive postseason for the Cougs. 

COUGS BOND IN EUROPEAN TRIP
The Cougars took an international tour this summer, visiting England and Spain. WSU played three exhibition games over 10 days, while sightseeing London, Malaga, and Barcelona. The Cougs say the London Eye, Big Ben, La Sagrada Familia, and excursioned around the Mediterranean Sea in southern Spain. Division-I teams are allowed foreign tours once every four years. The Cougar men last traveled in 2015 to Italy. Freshman Brunel Madzou and senior adrià Rodriguez did not play, as they were not cleared through the NCAA at the time of the tour, and Rodriguez joined the Spanish national team for a pair of exhibition matches.

COUGARS PICKED SIXTH IN WCC
Entering the 2025-26 season as an affiliate member of the West Coast Conference, Wazzu was selected sixth in the preseason coaches poll. The Cougars did not receive an honoree on the conference preseason team.

BRAYDEN KYMAN INKS DEAL
Class of 2026 senior Brayden Kyman, a 6-8 power forward from Rancho Santa Margarita, California, signed a financial aid agreement to play basketball at Washington State beginning next season. The versatile forward can score at all three levels with a deep range and length to work inside. 

OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER
The Cougars will look to continue a high-powered offense which Coach Riley instilled last season on Friel Court. During Riley's first season the Cougs set school records in shots made (968) and assists (574), more than any previous team in school history. The Cougs finished ninth in the country in field goal percentage, 19th in assists, and 20th in blocks.

NEW PAC-12 ON THE HORIZON
The revitalized Pac-12 Conference is set to launch July 1, 2026 with a strong slate of men's basketball programs including Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Gonzaga, Oregon State, San Diego State, Texas State, and Utah State.

COWARD JOINS THE ASSOCIATION
Cedric Coward, a 2024 WCC All-Preseason selection, and graduate of WSU, was drafted No. 11 in the 2025 NBA Draft, joining the Memphis Grizzlies after a trade. Coward, who played just six games last season prior to suffering a season-ending injury, linked up with 2024 WSU Draftee, Jaylen Wells. There are currently five Cougars playing in the NBA — Cedric Coward, Mouhamed Gueye, Isaac Jones, Klay Thompson, and Jaylen Wells.