The WSU men’s basketball team is set to take on the Central Washington University (CWU) Wildcats today in Kennewick after narrowly escaping with a season-opening win on Friday in Pullman.

WSU comes off of a 69-65 victory against Montana State this past Friday. Junior guard Derrien King had 22 points on 50 percent shooting (6-12) from the field to pace the Cougars’ offense. Senior forward Josh Hawkinson also added a double-double with 16 points and 14 boards, the 41st of his career.

Much to the vexation of Head Coach Ernie Kent, the Cougars ended the night with a tally of 17 turnovers, allowing the Bobcats to stay in the game.

“We are always going to have turnovers because we are playing fast trying to get scoring opportunities and get up more shots,” Kent said. “We have to get used to playing at that speed, we do it in practice but we have to do it with the fans, officials, and opponents are in the gym.”

Freshmen guard Malachi Flynn and forward Jeff Pollard have already played considerable minutes in the team’s first two contests and are expected to see playing time against CWU.

“They have both been very impressive and very steady,” Kent said. “Pollard is not your average freshman, he is already one of the best defenders on the team, and Malachi has been very coachable.”

The game versus CWU will be a neutral site affair for both teams. The contest also marks the start of a nine-day trip for the team, as WSU will head to the Virgin Islands for the Paradise Jam Basketball Tournament this weekend following Tuesday’s game.

“Playing in the Toyota Center (Kennewick) will be a great experience,” Kent said. “We’ll have our fans there and Central will have theirs too. It will be a great environment.”

The Cougars come into Tuesday night averaging 73.5 points per game after two games played, while CWU comes in averaging 91.5. Kent said that despite the Wildcats being a Division II squad, the game will be a good measuring stick for the team.

“This is a good game to get on the road and prep for the Virgin Islands tournament,” Kent said.

The Cougars will go head-to-head with the Wildcats at 7 p.m. on Tuesday and the game will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network.