The Cougars struggled out of the gate but finished strong in the Great Alaska Shootout over Thanksgiving weekend.

Washington State (3-3) shot a dismal 23 percent from the field in their first game of the tournament, falling to the University of California Santa Barbara 71-43. Junior forward Brett Boese led the Cougars with 13 points.

The next game was a different story for the Cougars. Thanks to a much better shooting effort, WSU shot 46 percent in a 76-74 victory over Rice University. The Cougars opened the game on a 12-0 run and were led by sophomore forward Josh Hawkinson, who scored 27 points on 11-18 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds. Freshman point guard Ny Redding led the team in assists with eight.

The win gave WSU the opportunity to compete for fourth place in the tournament after dropping their first game. The Cougars were tasked with the challenge of beating the Missouri State Bears. In a hard fought game that went to overtime WSU beat the Bears 89-84, thanks in large part to a dominant performance from senior guard DaVonté Lacy.

Lacy scored 31 points total, with 26 after halftime. The game looked bleak for the Cougars as they trailed the Bears 45-33 at half. WSU never led in the second half but a three-pointer from sophomore Que Johnson with 30 seconds left in regulation sent the game into overtime.

WSU went on a 6-0 run in overtime and secured their third victory of the season. Redding and Hawkinson added 11 points each while sophomore Ike Iroegbu had a well-balanced game, scoring 14 points and dishing out six assists with six rebounds.

Through the first six games of the season, Lacy is leading the team in scoring with 16.4 points per game while Hawkinson leads the team in rebounding with 9.8 boards per game. Hawkinson is also second in scoring with 14.7 points per game. Redding leads the team with 5.3 assists per contest.

The Cougars have a chance to get above .500 for the first time this season Wednesday night against the Idaho Vandals.

Reporting by William Cheshier