Cougars Set to Host Gonzaga
Men's basketball at home for first time since Nov. 14.
December 4, 1997
PULLMAN, Wash. - The Washington State men's basketball team, back from a
seventh-place finish in the San Juan Shootout, plays its first game in
Pullman since the Cougars defeated Central Washington 90-61 Nov. 14.
The Cougars (3-2 overall) welcome the Gonzaga Bulldogs (6-1 overall), who
will complete a seven-game road stretch tonight. This is the first meeting
between the two teams at Friel Court since WSU beat GU 92-73 in the 1996
National Invitation Tournament.
Since the series resumed in 1996 (they had last played No. 25, 1988, - a
64-63 GU win) the Cougars have won all three meetings with GU by an average
margin of 12 points. WSU also holds the all-time advantage 94-38 in the
series that started in 1908.
Each team has been shooting the ball extremely well from the field (both
.500) and from 3-point range (WSU .444, GU .496). The Cougars made a
season-best 63.2 percent of their shots vs. Penn.
Both losses for WSU this season came during the San Jan Shootout where the
Cougars dropped their first two decisions to South Florida (59-61 OT) and
Penn (67-69) before they topped host Puerto Rico-Mayaguez (85-51). WSU set
a school record for steals against UPR-Mayaguez with 17 total (previous
record of 16) and senior Rodrigo de la Fuente had seven steals to finish one
off the school mark set by Don Collins in 1980.
The steadiest player for the Cougars so far has been de la Fuente who has
paced WSU in scoring during all five games. He's the team's second-leading
rebounder (6.6) next to Carlos Daniel (7.2) and already has converted 26 of
31 free throw attempts (.839).
In San Juan, Daniel showed no ill effects from the MCL sprain he suffered
during the Brigham Young victory Nov. 19. He played 42 of 45 minutes during
the South Florida game.
Washington State Cougars (3-2) - Tentative Starters
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown Ppg Rpg
21 Carlos Daniel F 6-7 245 SR Louisville, Colo. 12.0 7.2
34 Chris Crosby F 6-7 218 SO Littleton, Colo. 14.6 3.4
41 Steve Slotemaker F 6-9 221 JR Aloha, Ore. 5.0 3.8
14 Rodrigo de la Fuente G 6-6.5 204 SR Madrid, Spain 18.8 6.6
03 Blake Pengelly PG 5-10 163 SO Eugene, Ore. 6.2 2.0
Head Coach: Kevin Eastman (176-117 career, 11 years / 52-42 WSU, 4 years)
Three Dot Notes - In 57 games played in Pullman, Washington State owns a
43-14 record over Gonzaga...WSU's last home loss to the Bulldogs came Dec.
10, 1986 - a 58-59 decision.
