AREA ROUNDUP: Cougs conquer Fresno State at men’s basketball Holiday Invite

AREA ROUNDUP

PALM DESERT, Calif. — After a tight start, the Washington State men’s basketball team expanded its lead late en route to an 84-73 victory over Fresno State in Acrisure Holiday Invitational tournament play on Tuesday.

The Cougars (6-1) were up 39-36 at halftime following multiple early lead changes. They expanded their lead to as many as 18 points at 73-55 before the Bulldogs (3-3) inched closer again in the closing stages.

Nate Calmese was the Cougs’ high-scorer with 22 points and added six assists and eight rebounds to boot. Ethan Price scored 16 while offering six assists of his own, Lejuan Watts had 14 points and a team-high nine rebounds and Dane Erikstrup provided another 13 points and six boards for WSU.

Washington State continues its Holiday Invitational run facing the SMU Mustangs today at 6:30 p.m.

FRESNO ST. (3-3)

El.Price 1-2 1-4 3, Robinson 2-11 6-9 10, Seck 1-2 0-0 2, Augillard 2-9 0-0 5, Collins 11-17 3-4 27, Crawford 7-10 0-0 17, Weaver 1-4 0-0 2, Douglas 1-4 2-4 5, Amuneke 1-3 0-0 2, Tremble 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-63 12-21 73.

WASHINGTON ST. (6-1)

Erikstrup 6-9 0-2 13, Et.Price 6-10 2-4 16, L.Watts 6-12 2-2 14, Calmese 10-16 1-2 22, I.Watts 2-9 2-2 8, Okafor 3-4 3-6 9, Wynott 0-1 0-0 0, Thrastarson 1-1 0-0 2, Gerrits 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 34-64 10-18 84.

Halftime — Washington St. 39-36. 3-Point Goals — Fresno St. 7-22 (Crawford 3-4, Collins 2-3, Douglas 1-4, Augillard 1-6, Amuneke 0-1, Robinson 0-1, Tremble 0-1, Weaver 0-2), Washington St. 6-22 (Et.Price 2-4, I.Watts 2-6, Calmese 1-3, Erikstrup 1-3, Gerrits 0-2, L.Watts 0-4). Rebounds — Fresno St. 29 (El.Price 9), Washington St. 37 (L.Watts 9). Assists — Fresno St. 9 (Robinson, Collins 4), Washington St. 23 (Et.Price, Calmese 6). Total Fouls — Fresno St. 16, Washington St. 20.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Hamper named Jerry Rice finalist

Idaho redshirt freshman receiver Mark Hamper has been named a Jerry Rice Award Finalist by Opta Analyst, the organization announced Monday.

The award honors the best freshman or redshirt freshman player in the Football Championship Subdivision.

Hamper has racked up 41 catches for a team-high 858 yards and five touchdowns this season. His average of 20.9 yards-per-catch sits fifth in the FCS.

Janikowski named Wuerffel Trophy finalist

Washington State kicker Dean Janikowski was named a finalist for the Allstate Wuerffel Trophy, College Football’s premier award for community service.

Named after the 1996 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback from the University of Florida, Danny Wuerffel, this award recognizes college football players who exemplify exceptional community service, academic excellence and athletic performance.

Janikowski founded the Heather Janikowski Foundation in honor of his late mother, raising more than $150,000 to support cancer research and patients. Since arriving at WSU, he has launched the “More Than a Kick” and “Kicking Cancer” initiatives, encouraging donations for each field goal and extra point he makes.

WOMEN’S COLLEGE SWIMMING

Lundgren, Revitt pick up weekly accolades

Washington State swimmers Emily Lundgren and Darcy Revitt each earned Mountain West Conference Swimmer of the Week honors, the conference office announced Tuesday.

Lundgren was named the MWC Swimmer of the Week for the second time this season, while Revitt was declared Freshman of the Week for a third time. To help earn the awards, Lundgren won the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke events in the Art Adamson Invite at Texas A&M, while Revitt recorded two NCAA “B” times as an individual and was a member of two school record-setting relay teams.

COLLEGE ATHLETICS

Warriors bag 20 scholar-athlete honors

Eight volleyball players, eight men’s cross country runners and four women’s cross country runners from Lewis-Clark State College garnered Fall Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athlete status in the awards released Monday.

To qualify as a Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athlete, students must maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and have attended their institution for at least one full year.

The Warriors were represented by seniors Abbey Neff, Hallie Seaman, Anna Merrill and Natany Felix Guimaraes as well as juniors Esther Kailiponi and Juliauna Forgach Aguilar. Sophomores Gianna Anderson and Makenzie Stout earned the award in their first year of eligibility.

Seniors Jacob Adams, Carter Gordon, Conner May and Luke Sellmann highlighted the men’s cross country representatives. Juniors Connor Alexander, Alexander Fry, Tristin O’Brien and Clay Shumaker also met the requirements. On the women’s side, seniors Abigail Shumaker and Sydnie Zywina brought home the accolade, along with juniors Emily Collins and Grace Tiegs.

HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS BASKETBALL

Coeur d’Alene 70, Lewiston 33

COEUR D’ALENE — Lewiston suffered a lopsided nonleague defeat at the hands of the host Vikings.

Coeur d’Alene (2-2) asserted its dominance with a 21-4 showing in the second quarter. Avery Lathen tallied eight points to lead seven scorers for the Bengals (1-2).

LEWISTON (1-2)

Emma Walker 0 0-0 0, Avery Balmer 1 1-2 4, Skye VanTrease 2 0-0 5, Addy McKarcher 1 4-6 6, Kylese Samuels 0 0-0 0, Mara Kessinger 0 0-0 0, Avery Lathen 3 2-3 8, Taylor Holman 0 2-2 2, Paytland Schnell 2 0-0 5, Emery McKarcher 1 0-0 3. Totals 10 9-13 33.

COUER D’ALENE (2-2)

Lexi Wheeler 3 0-0 6, Natalie Semp 4 0-0 10, Karisa Wallis 5 0-0 13, Brookeslee Colvin 6 6-8 19, Sophie Holecek 3 0-0 8, Carlee Bowmer 0 0-0 0, Kelsey Carroll 2 0-0 5, Bree Reardon 0 1-2 1. Totals 23 7-10 70.

Lewiston 9 4 16 4—33

Coeur d’Alene 16 21 20 13—70

3-point goals — Balmer, VanTrease, Schnell, E. McKarcher, Wallis 3, Semp 2, Holecek 2, Colvin, Carroll.

HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS SWIMMING

Hounds, Bantams make splash in league awards

Pullman’s Lucy Sandberg (200-yard individual medley) and Bree Myers (100 backstroke) along with Clarkston’s Graycie Graham (adaptive swimming) garnered first-team recognition in the All-2A Greater Spokane League awards released recently.

The Greyhounds and Bantams made further appearances in the second team and honorable mention categories. The complete set of honorees is listed below.

MVP — Ava Swigart, Lewis & Clark.

FIRST TEAM

200 free — Brigid Dinnen, East Valley.

500 free — Acacia O’Dell, Cheney.

200 IM — Lucy Sandberg, Pullman.

100 back — Bree Myers, Pullman.

100 fly — Joy O’Dell, Cheney.

100 breast — Bostyn Shoemaker, Central Valley.

50/100 free — Lauren Howe, Cheney.

Diving — Sara Rogers, Ferris.

Adaptive — Graycie Graham, Clarkston.

SECOND TEAM

50/100 free — Anjali Richards, Lewis & Clark.

200 free — Madi Bauman, Cheney.

500 free — Catalina Donolo, Pullman.

200 IM — Sage Schaefer, Cheney.

100 back — Jezelle Schmidt, Cheney.

100 fly — Anya Atkinson, Lewis & Clark.

100 breast — Hazel Edge, Pullman.

Diving — Mia Gergawy, West Valley.

HONORABLE MENTION

50/100 free — Abby Wu, Pullman.

200 free — Morgan Herr, Lewis & Clark.

500 free — Hallie Mackleit, Clarkston.

200 IM — Myra Boreson, Clarkston.

100 back — Ella Miller, Lewis & Clark.

100 fly — Kiara Donolo, Pullman.

100 breast — Sofia Sydor, Lewis & Clark.

Diving — Bethany Bleam, Cheney.