PULLMAN, Wash. – The Washington State men's basketball team (8-11, 3-3) lost to No. 9 Gonzaga, 65-86, Thursday evening at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman. The Cougars played a back-and-forth first half with the visiting Bulldogs before the Zags built a double-digit lead and the top-25 side expanded the lead after halftime.
 
WSU's Simon Hildebrandt and Jerone Morton each tallied WSU career highs with 16 points each. The upperclassmen shared scoring responsibilities with freshman Ace Glass, who added 16 points for his seventh-straight game in double figures.
 
The Cougars struggled with Gonzaga's size as ND Okafor went to the bench early with foul trouble and played limited minutes in the second half. WSU was outscored in the paint 52-12 and allowed an opponent season-high 43 rebounds.
 
Hildebrandt gave the Cougs a spark in the first half, burying three-consecutive 3-pointers to deliver a 9-0 WSU run over 56 seconds. The Canadian senior finished with a career-high four made triples. Fellow senior Adria Rodriguez led the Cougars in rebounding with Okafor on the bench, grabbing a career-high eight rebounds.
 
WSU returns to the road for a pair of California contests in the next week. The Cougars visit San Francisco and War Memorial Gym to face the Dons, Sunday, January 18, at 4 p.m. Wazzu will travel south to face San Diego the following Wednesday, January 21.