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Pangos' hot hand sparks Gonzaga over Washington State

Nov 15, 2011 - 8:03 AM Spokane, WA (Sports Network) - Freshman Kevin Pangos tied a school record with nine three-pointers and finished with 33 points to carry No. 22 Gonzaga over Washington State, 89-81.

Robert Sacre made 13-of-13 from the foul line and totaled 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Elias Harris chipped in 14 points and 11 boards for the Bulldogs (2-0), who led by as many as 21 but needed to hold off the Cougars down the stretch.

Gary Bell Jr. added 14 points off the bench for the victors.

Brock Motum led five Washington State (0-1) players in double figures with 17 points to go with eight rebounds.

The Cougars were playing their season opener following an appearance in the NIT semifinals last year, while the Bulldogs were coming off a 77-69 win over Washington State last Friday.

Pangos hit six of Gonzaga's 10 three-pointers in the opening 20 minutes, and connected from behind the arc on the hosts' first two possessions.

The Cougars didn't hit their first field goal until five minutes had passed, and trailed by as many as 15 in the first half, which ended with Gonzaga holding a 41-32 advantage.

Washington State's Faisal Aden hit a three-pointer to open the second half scoring, but Gonzaga answered with 12 of the next 14 points to extend its lead to 53-57. A Pangos three-ball pushed the margin to 21 with 13:11 remaining.

Harris put in a layup with 5:12 showing for a seemingly comfortable 77-62 cushion, but the Bulldogs did not make a field goal the rest of the way.

DaVonte Lacy drained consecutive three-pointers during an 11-0 spurt that brought Washington State within 77-73 with 3:07 remaining.

Sacre made two successful trips to the foul line around his block of Will DiIorio's putback attempt, but the Cougars made it a one-possession game when Reggie Moore hit a three-pointer with 27.3 seconds on the clock.

The visitors, though, missed from long range their next three times down, and Gonzaga made 5-of-6 from the foul line to seal the win.

Game Notes

Washington State won last year's meeting, 81-59, and still leads the all-time series, 98-48...The Cougars' double-digit scorers included Moore (14), Mike Ladd (13), Aden (12) and Lacy (11)...Pangos also handed out a game-high six assists...Gonzaga shot 30-of-37 from the foul line, compared to Washington State's 14-of-21 effort from the stripe.