Crimson Cougars Meet BYU Cougars in Provo
Men's basketball team embarks on four-game road trip.
November 17, 1997
PULLMAN, Wash. - Cougars battle Cougars this Wednesday, Nov. 19, when the
Washington State men's basketball team meets Brigham Young in Provo, Utah.
Tipoff at the Marriott Center is set for 6:05 p.m. PST.
This is the first of four consecutive road games for WSU (1-0), which won
its season opener 90-61 over Central Washington Nov. 14 in Pullman. The
crimson Cougars play three games at the San Juan Shootout Nov. 28-30 before
a Dec. 4 home tilt with Gonzaga. BYU (1-0), which also hosts Pacific-10
schools Oregon and Washington in non-conference play this year, matched its
1997 season win total with a 73-59 road win at San Diego State Nov. 14.
"We have a difficult first road game," said WSU head coach Kevin Eastman.
"BYU surprised a lot of people on this side of the country by going to San
Diego State and beating them. Frankly, these two teams are very similar in
terms of personnel."
WSU and BYU have played six times (WSU trails 2-4). The two teams last met
a decade ago in Pullman (Dec. 3, 1987) which resulted in a 54-60 loss for
the home team. The other five meetings in the series have all been played
at Provo, where WSU owns a 2-3 mark vs. BYU. The crimson Cougars won the
last game in Provo, a 69-65 decision Nov. 30, 1985.
Senior Rodrigo de la Fuente led four Cougars in double-digits vs. Central
Washington with 19 points to top his previous career best of 18 against UCLA
in the season finale last year. Sophomores Chris Crosby and Blake Pengelly
scored 17 points (one off his career best) and 13 points, respectively, and
combined to hit six of seven 3-point attempts. Senior Carlos Daniel battled
through a case of the flu to add 11 points and six rebounds.
"What pleased me the most about the Central Washington win was that we kept
the game organized and didn't let it get sloppy," Eastman said. "Our guys
competed the entire time. If you didn't know what the score was you would
have thought it was close."
Tentative Starters
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown Ppg Rpg
21 Carlos Daniel F 6-7 245 SR Louisville, Colo. 11.0 6.0
34 Chris Crosby F 6-7 218 SO Littleton, Colo. 17.0 4.0
33 Steve Slotemaker F 6-9 221 JR Aloha, Ore. 3.0 5.0
14 Rodrigo de la Fuente G 6-6.5 204 SR Madrid, Spain 19.0 6.0
03 Blake Pengelly PG 5-10 163 SO Eugene, Ore. 13.0 1.0
Head Coach: Kevin Eastman (174-115 career, 11 years / 50-40 WSU, 4 years)
Three Dot Notes - Current Cougar Leif Nelson, a junior transfer, played at
Utah Valley State College last season...the Cougars were 2-10 in away games
(played at an opponent's home court) last year with the two victories coming
at Eastern Washington and Arizona State...Kevin Eastman picked up his 50th
victory as Washington State's head coach Nov. 14 vs. Central Washington.
