COLLEGE ROUNDUP: Cougar men cap nonconference season with win over Northern Iowa

COLLEGE ROUNDUP

LAS VEGAS — Washington State built a large first-half cushion and withstood a rally from Northern Iowa to prevail 76-68 in nonconference men’s basketball play at Orleans Arena on Saturday.

The Cougars (10-3) shot 21-for-29 (72.4%) in the first half as they built a 49-26 lead heading to intermission. The Panthers (7-5) would cut into that advantage in the game’s latter stages, but not enough to change the outcome. Wazzu was one shy of its season-high in assists with 23, improving to 10-0 when totaling 15-or-more assists as a team.

LeJuan Watts secured his fifth double-double of the season for the Cougs with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Nate Calmese had a team-high 16 points along with six boards. Dane Erikstrup tallied another 15 points for WSU, and Tomas Thrastarson finished with a career-high seven points in his first career start.

N. IOWA (7-5)

Hutson 3-10 0-1 6, Campbell 3-10 2-2 9, Anderson 4-10 9-14 17, Bond 7-15 1-2 17, Schwieger 4-9 2-2 10, Weisbrod 1-3 0-0 3, Hornseth 1-1 0-0 2, Born 1-2 2-2 4, Pock 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-61 16-23 68.

WASHINGTON ST. (10-3)

Erikstrup 6-7 0-0 15, Price 4-10 0-0 9, L.Watts 7-10 0-1 14, Calmese 6-12 3-6 16, Thrastarson 3-4 0-1 7, Wynott 1-4 0-0 3, Gerrits 3-4 0-0 6, Okafor 2-3 2-2 6. Totals 32-54 5-10 76.

Halftime — Washington St. 49-26. 3-Point Goals — N. Iowa 4-22 (Bond 2-7, Weisbrod 1-3, Campbell 1-6, Pock 0-1, Schwieger 0-2, Hutson 0-3), Washington St. 7-21 (Erikstrup 3-4, Thrastarson 1-1, Wynott 1-3, Price 1-5, Calmese 1-6, Gerrits 0-1, L.Watts 0-1). Rebounds — N. Iowa 31 (Anderson 10), Washington St. 29 (L.Watts 12). Assists — N. Iowa 17 (Campbell 6), Washington St. 23 (Calmese 6). Total Fouls — N. Iowa 15, Washington St. 19.

Idaho 95, Pacific 72

GROVE, Ore. — Kolton Mitchell went off for a career-high 32 points to lead Idaho in a dominant nonconference win over Pacific University of Grove, Ore.

Three more Vandals scored in double-figures as Kristian Gonzalez added 20 points, his sixth double-figure effort of the season, and Julius Mims and Tyler Linhardt put up 14 each. Jack Payne led the team in rebounds with 11 and assists with eight to go along with five points.

The Vandals (5-8) shot 58.7% from the field — their highest conversion rate since February 4, 2023. Idaho’s 15 made threes were the most for the Vandals against a DI opponent since November 10, 2021.

IDAHO (5-8)

Mims 7-10 0-0 14, Mrus 2-6 0-0 6, Gonzalez 7-11 3-3 20, Mitchell 12-17 2-2 32, Payne 2-8 0-0 5, Linhardt 5-8 1-1 14, Hardy 2-3 0-0 4, Anderson 0-0 0-0 0, Brickner 0-0 0-0 0, Stevens 0-0 0-0 0, Hatten 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 37-63 6-6 95.

PACIFIC (5-9)

Ralph 8-18 0-0 18, Fisher 4-9 3-5 11, Koulibaly 2-3 0-0 6, Krivokapic 4-9 2-2 13, Washington 5-13 2-2 14, Benton 3-8 0-0 8, Ominu 1-2 0-0 2, Gardner 0-1 0-0 0, Campbell 0-0 0-0 0, Keinys 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-64 7-9 72.

Halftime — Idaho 47-31. 3-Point Goals — Idaho 15-34 (Mitchell 6-10, Linhardt 3-6, Gonzalez 3-7, Mrus 2-5, Payne 1-5, Mims 0-1), Pacific 11-29 (Krivokapic 3-7, Koulibaly 2-3, Washington 2-5, Benton 2-6, Ralph 2-7, Fisher 0-1). Rebounds — Idaho 37 (Payne 11), Pacific 23 (Fisher 8). Assists — Idaho 24 (Payne 8), Pacific 17 (Washington 6). Total Fouls — Idaho 10, Pacific 6. A — 1,222 (6,150).

WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Idaho 68, CSUN 52

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. — Hope Hassman led 10 Vandal scorers with 18 points and a big third quarter set Idaho on the path to victory against host Cal State-Northridge.

Idaho (8-3) trailed 35-33 at halftime, but tore out of intermission and changed the complexion of the game with a 25-8 showing in the third. Anja Bukvic (14 points), and Sarah Brans (10) joined Hassman in double-digit offensive production, while Jennifer Aadland collected a team-high 10 rebounds to go with her seven points.

The difference ultimately came down to the effort on the glass, with the Vandals outrebounding the Matadors 53-38.

IDAHO (8-3)

Hassman 7-16 2-2 18, Bukvic 5-9 2-2 14, Nelson 2-9 3-4 7, Aadland 3-9 0-0 7, Schweizer 0-8 2-3 2, Brans 4-9 2-2 10, Pinheiro 1-5 2-2 4, Uriarte 1-2 0-0 3, Deaver 1-1 0-0 2, Carvalho 0-0 1-2 1, da Silva 0-4 0-0 0, Curtis 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-73 14-16 68.

CSUN (2-9)

Tumlin 5-12 1-2 16, Edwards 5-11 0-0 12, Cox 3-6 0-0 6, Adams 1-7 0-0 2,Kilty 0-1 0-0 0, Aspajo 4-14 2-2 10, Orji 1-2 2-2 4, Dahlin 0-3 2-2 2, Marshall 0-5 0-0 , Lizama 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 19-63 7-8 52.

Idaho 18 15 25 10—68

CSUN 17 18 8 9—52

3-point goals — Idaho 6-28 (Bukvic 2-5, Hassman 2-7, Uriarte 1-2, Aadlan 1-3, da Silva 0-1, Mackenzie 0-1, Nelson 0-2, Brans 0-2, Pinheiro 0-2, Schweizer 0-3), CSUN 7-24 (Tumlin 5-10, Edwards 2-5, Kilty 0-1, Adams 0-1, Lizama 0-2, Aspajo 0-2, Marshall 0-3). Rebounds — Idaho 53 (Aadland 10), CSUN 38 (Aspajo 10). Assists — Idaho 11 (Hassman, Nelson 4), CSUN 11 (Aspajo 9). Total fouls — Idaho 16, CSUN 14. Attendance — 275.