The WSU men’s basketball team cruised to a 61-48 victory behind great team defense against the University of Idaho Vandals on Wednesday.

This was the 112th consecutive meeting between the two schools, which is the longest continuous rivalry west of the Mississippi River. WSU (5-4, 0-0) leads the series 163-109 all time.

“Idaho is one of the games that you circle when the schedule comes out at the beginning of the year,” senior guard Ike Iroegbu said in an interview with WSU Athletic Communications. “These rivalry games are very important for us.”

Senior center Conor Clifford led WSU to a quick start against the Vandals (4-4, 0-0) with six quick points, including a one-handed dunk to get the energy going in Beasley Coliseum.

Idaho struggled to get anything going early as they started the game shooting two of 18. The pestering Cougar defense continued to affect Idaho all night as they ended the game shooting 25 percent from the field (17-66) and 15 percent from behind the three-point line (4-26).

WSU also showed great rim protection tallying seven blocked shots. Three of those coming from Clifford and two from both senior forward Josh Hawkinson and sophomore forward Robert Franks.

“We have struggled to guard (Idaho) in the past, now we are starting to make some progress,” Head Coach Ernie Kent said in a post-game news conference. “I thought we played terrific defense in the game first and second half.”

Offensively the Cougs had a balanced attack. Iroegbu led the team with 16 points and connected three times from deep. Hawkinson notched his seventh double-double of the season with 11 points as well as collecting 11 boards. Freshman guard Malachi Flynn also chipped in with 12 points of his own.

“I think that is what makes us such a multi-dimensional team,” Hawkinson stated after the game Wednesday. “Anyone can go off any night, that’s what makes us a threat to other teams.”

This win capped off a four game home stand for the Cougs in which they finished with two wins and two losses. WSU will now head to Kansas City for a showdown against the Kansas State Wildcats this Saturday.

KSU (8-1, 0-0) has been outscoring their opponents by a margin of 18 points per game. Kansas State’s defense has been lights out this season, holding opponents to 37 percent shooting and forcing an average of 18 turnovers per game so far this season.

One thing the Cougs could look to capitalize on is that the Wildcats have had trouble from the free throw line this year, averaging 62 percent from the line.

The Cougs will tip off against the Wildcats at 5 p.m. this Saturday in the Sprint Center. The game can be streamed on ESPN 3.