WSU in Spokane to Face EWU Monday Night

vs Eastern Washington (1-3, 0-0) | Monday, Nov. 21 | 6 pm PT | Spokane Arena
  Live Stats | StatBroadcast
  Watch | SWX (Dennis Patchin, Richard Fox, AJ Howell)
  Listen | WSU Learfield Radio Network (Matt Chazanow & Craig Ehlo)

OPENING FIVE
1. The Cougars head north to play Eastern Washington, Monday, Nov. 21, in a neutral site game at Spokane Arena in Spokane, Wash., with tipoff scheduled for 6 p.m. PT on SWX. The matchup will be the 69th all-time meeting between the programs, dating back to January 1907 between Washington State College and Cheney Normal. The Cougars and Eagles met last season, with EWU earning a 76-71 victory in Pullman, Nov. 27, snapping a six-game winning streak by WSU.
2. Last time out, the Cougs visited Prairie View, Texas, falling to Prairie View A&M, 59-70,  in the first road game of the season. The contest was part of the Pac-12/SWAC Legacy Series providing the opportunity for Pac-12 programs to travel and play true road games against SWAC opponents and also places crucial emphasis on raising awareness for anti-racism and social justice initiatives. TJ Bamba led the Cougs with 16 points and freshman Kymany Houinsou made his first-career start and his first double-digit outing.
3. TJ Bamba has scored in double figures each of the last two games, including a career-high 24 points against Boise State, Nov. 12 - the first 20-point game of his career. Bamba is averaging a team-best 16.0 points per game on 53.3% shooting, to go along with 5.3 rebounds per game.
4. WSU has played seven newcomers this season, headlined by transfers Jabe Mullins and Justin Powell, along with true freshmen Dylan Darling, Adrame Diongue, Mael Hamon-Crespin, and Kymany Houinsou; in addition to redshirt-senior Ben Olesen.
5. The Cougars have been short-handed since preseason, when Dishon Jackson and Myles Rice were announced out indefinitely for medical issues. Since the season-opener, WSU has been without Andrej Jakimovski (foot), while Dylan Darling and DJ Rodman have both missed action due to injury or illness.

COUGARS VS EAGLES
Washington State and Eastern Washington meet for the third-straight season as the Cougs travel up the road to Spokane, Wash., for a neutral-site battle with the Eagles at Spokane Arena, Monday, Nov. 21 at 6 p.m. The game, televised by SWX, will be the 69th all-time meeting between the programs, dating back to January 1907 and a 16-10 win by Washington State College over Cheney Normal. The Cougars and Eagles met last season, with EWU earning a 76-71 victory in Pullman, Nov. 27, snapping a six-game winning streak by WSU. Eastern came back from a 40-28 deficit in the win, led by Mason Landdeck with 24 points. The Cougs were led by Tyrell Roberts (23 points) and Michael Flowers (21 points) with 20-point performances. Monday's game will be the first neutral site meeting between the universities since Dec. 22, 1997 in Spokane when WSU fell, 82-83.

DARLING HOMECOMING
Monday's game against Eastern Washington will be a homecoming for WSU freshman Dylan Darling, who attended Central Valley High School in Spokane. Darling, the 2022 Washington 4A Player of the Year and Greater Spokane League MVP, averaged 33.2 points per game on 55% shooting during his senior season, breaking the league record previously held by Gonzaga standout Adam Morrison. Twice during his senior season, Darling scored over 50 points eclipsing 1,000 points and leading the CV Bears to an 18-8 record and berth in the 4A state tournament.

BAMBA'S BACK
TJ Bamba has scored in double figures each of the last two games, including a career-high 24 points against Boise State, Nov. 12 - the first 20-point game of his career. Bamba is averaging a team-best 16.0 points per game on 53.3% shooting, to go along with 5.3 rebounds per game.

INJURY BUG BITES EARLY
The Cougs have been short-handed since the start of the season due to injury. Prior to the season starting, the Cougars announced they will be without junior Dishon Jackson or redshirt freshman Myles Rice. Both are out indefinitely due to medical issues. Rice announced publicly in October he has been diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma and is undergoing treatment. Jackson did not disclose his medical issue and asked for privacy. In addition, Rodman missed the game at Prairie View A&M due to illness, Darling missed the game against Boise State (hip), and WSU has been without Jakimovski (foot) since preseason.

LAST TIME OUT – AT PRAIRIE VIEW A&M
Will Douglas had 26 points and seven rebounds, Jeremiah Gambrell added 19 points and Prairie View A&M beat Washington State 70-59 on Tuesday night. Douglas scored 17 points in the first half to help Prairie View build a 41-27 lead by halftime. The Panthers shot 54.8% from the field and held the Cougars to 31.8. TJ Bamba scored nine of his 16 points in the final six minutes for Washington State. Kymany Houinsou added 10 points.

NEXT UP
Washington State returns to the friendly confines of Beasley Coliseum to face Detroit Mercy for it's second home game of the year on Black Friday, Nov. 25, at 1 p.m. PT. The game will be televised on Pac-12 Networks.

DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS
The Cougars will play two games in Texas this season, facing Prairie View A&M, Nov. 15, and playing Baylor in Dallas, Dec. 18. In addition, WSU opened the season with a win at home over Texas State. It's the most games against Texas universities since the 2015-16 season, when the Cougs hosted Texas Southern, Texas State, and UTEP in Pullman. It's the first time since the 2014-15 season the Cougs played two games in Texas, opening the season at UTEP, Nov. 14, and at TCU, Nov. 17.

ROSARIO'S RETURN
Junior Carlos Rosario made his return for the Cougars in the season opener versus Texas State. It had been 627 days (Feb. 18, 2021) since Rosario last played for Wazzu, having to medically redshirt his sophomore season after playing just seven games his freshman season due to medical issues. In his return to the court, Rosario scored his first-career field goal and finished with a career-high six points and three rebounds.

MAEL BLOCK PARTY
True freshman and Parisian Mael Hamon-Crespin made his collegiate debut against Texas State. Hamon-Crespin picked up two points in the win and a team-high three blocks. The Frenchman's three denials tie for second most in the country by a true freshman in their debut and the most blocks by a WSU freshman in a season opener since DeAngelo Casto blocked four shots against Mississippi Valley State, Nov. 15, 2008.

RODMAN RETURNING VETERAN
As the Cougars' veteran senior, Rodman entered WSU's starting lineup in the season opener against Texas State. Rodman scored 16 points, the most since scoring a career high 21 points against Northern Colorado, Dec. 18, 2021. He finished with a +14 plus-minus and 4-of-7 from 3-point range. Rodman followed up with a career-high 14 rebounds against Boise State to lead WSU on the boards, with 5 offensive rebounds.

DARLING LEGACY COUG
Darling is a legacy Coug as both of his parents, James and Kim, are WSU graduates. His father played four years on the gridiron for the Cougs and was a first-team All-Pac-10 honoree twice and second-team Sporting News All-American as a senior. He went on to play 10 years in the NFL.  Darling made his collegiate debut as the first substitute in the season opener versus Texas State, despite playing only three minutes due to injury.

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