WSU entered Wednesday night’s matchup at 8–10, hosting a Gonzaga squad ranked No. 9 in the nation and riding a 17–1 record. Despite an energetic start and a competitive first half, the Cougars ultimately fell 86–65 to the Bulldogs.

WSU won the opening tipoff, but freshman guard Ace Glass missed the first shot of the game from beyond the arc. The Cougars’ defense held strong early, keeping the score at 0–0 until guard Jerone Morton scored the game’s first basket with a layup. The bucket sparked an early offensive rhythm for the Cougs, followed by a 3-pointer from forward Eemeli Yalaho that was quickly answered by a Gonzaga offensive push and triple from Adam Miller to keep the game tied.

Both teams traded steals in the opening minutes. Gonzaga was more efficient in transition, capitalizing on WSU turnovers to build brief momentum and a lead. That surge was quickly halted when Simon Hildebrandt knocked down back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers. This ignited the crowd and brought the Cougars within one at 15–14 after Gonzaga had pulled away.

“You kind of get into a rhythm,” Hildebrandt said. “Just seeing your first one or two go in and run up and down the floor, kind of get a feel for the game, just you’re feeling good and the shot feels good.”

Gonzaga’s Emmanuel Innocenti and Graham Ike helped keep the Bulldogs even, with Ike finishing through contact inside to tie the game with five minutes remaining. Emmanuel Ugbo responded with a powerful dunk to swing momentum back toward WSU, and the teams continued trading buckets until Gonzaga pieced together a short scoring run to take the lead by 10 at halftime.

The Cougars shot an impressive 53% from three-point range in the first half, led by Hildebrandt’s 12 points, followed by Glass’s 9 points. The Cougars stayed competitive until Gonzaga pulled away in the final three minutes before halftime. 

Washington State opened the second half with a turnover and a foul, setting the tone for a difficult stretch. Ugbo briefly provided a spark with a 3-pointer, but Gonzaga responded immediately with an Ike layup as the Bulldogs began to stretch the lead. Fouls plagued the Cougars throughout the half.

Gonzaga continued to answer Wazzu, pushing the lead to 58–40 with 14 minutes remaining. The Bulldogs continued to control the tempo, and ND Okafor fouled out with just over 10 minutes left, further limiting WSU’s depth and control. Head coach David Riley said he felt the team regressed after the game.

“I felt like we regressed a little bit today with our physicality and just the force that we played with. It seemed like we were thinking or just a step behind,” Riley said. “We weren’t able to stay in the moment. It just seemed like we were a step slow and a little timid in way too much of that game. You can see that, like when we were a half second late on a blockout, you’re a half second late on rotation and we’re going up sideways instead of going vertical and we’re going up off balance to go get a rebound rather than going and pursuing the ball at the rim.”

Hildebrandt provided one of the Cougars’ final highlights with a 4-point play, followed by another Morton three, briefly trimming the margin to 66–53. Gonzaga responded with free throws and continued to match every Cougar score. The Zags extended the lead and closed out the victory.

The Cougs were outscored in the paint 52-12. Gonzaga’s Ike led the game with 23 points. Glass had his seventh-straight game with double figures. The Cougs were led by Morton, Glass and Hildebrandt with 16 points each. 

The Cougs look to rebound against San Francisco at 4 p.m in the War Memorial Gym.