Washington State Basketball: Zags Win 71-69, Kevin Pangos Rips WSU’s Hearts Out Again

Dec. 5, 2012; Pullman, WA, USA; The Gonzaga Bulldogs celebrate after a game against Washington State Cougars at the Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum. The Bulldogs would go not beat the Cougars by a final score of 71-69. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

Gonzaga’s Kevin Pangos followed an electric, game tying layup by DaVonte Lacy with one of his own to beat Washington State Wednesday night. The basket gave Gonzaga its first 9-0 start in the program’s history. It also was the second year in a row that Pangos burned the Cougs, as he hit nine 3’s in The Kennel last season to put Wazzu away.

Pangos made what will be the most memorable basket of the game, but he wasn’t the most influential Zag on the floor. Kelly Olynyk will take that distinction, after scoring a career high 22 points on the night. The long, blond flowing locks were everywhere, including an unconventional 4 point play late in the game that broke a tie and gave Gonzaga the upper hand. The play included a front end free throw by Olynyk, then a rebound by Mike Hart on the back-end miss, then a kick back to Olynyk who drilled his first 3 of the season.

GU Forward Elias Harris put the team on his back for much of the game, scoring a game-high tying 23 points. The Cougs weren’t short on players stepping up, including Brock Motum and DaVonte Lacy, who matched Harris and Olynyk point for point. They lifted WSU from an 11 point deficit with less than 6 minutes remaining, hitting 5 straight 3’s between them and scoring 23 and 22 on the night, respectively.