Mouhamed Gueye, Justin Powell and Washington State aim to string together another strong performance Saturday when they visit Boise State in the Capital City Classic.
The game is officially a neutral-site contest despite being played in Boise, Idaho.
Gueye scored 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting and added a career-high 13 rebounds in the Cougars’ 83-61 win over Texas State on Monday in the season opener for both teams.
A Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference First Team selection, he found himself on the receiving end of many passes from Powell, a transfer guard from Tennessee. Powell recorded a career-high 12 assists to go along with 14 points for Washington State (1-0).
“It’s great when I have (Gueye) next to me,” Powell said. “Whatever they gave us, we took. I had guys finish everything for me, which makes it easier.
“It felt good kinda going back to my roots a little bit, which is having the ball in my hands, being able to distribute, being in a great offense.”
Cougars coach Kyle Smith was quite complimentary of Powell, who committed just one turnover on a team that totaled 19 assists and shot 52.7 percent from the floor.
“He’s an elite passer and pretty close to being an elite shooter,” Smith said. “We really upgraded there (passing the ball). That’s kind of our identity.”
DJ Rodman, the son of Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman, scored 16 points while making the start in place of injured Andrej Jakimovski (toe).
While Washington State enjoyed a convincing victory in its opener, Boise State (0-1) dropped a heartbreaker with a 68-66 setback to South Dakota State on Wednesday. The Jackrabbits made a layup with 1.3 seconds remaining to emerge with the victory.
Max Rice recorded 21 points and a career-high five steals for the Broncos.
“I feel like I’m coming off the best offseason I’ve had,” Rice said. “I’ve been doing it in practice so I know I can do it in games. My teammates find me and they know that I can make those shots, so I’m becoming a lot more aggressive this year.”
Marcus Shaver Jr. had 17 points, six rebounds and five assists in a losing effort.
Shaver had 15 points and six rebounds in the Broncos’ 58-52 victory over the Cougars last season.
–Field Level Media
