The Washington State Cougars’ undefeated run to start the season came to an abrupt and unceremonious end on Saturday night when the Eastern Washington Eagles invaded Beasley Coliseum and left with a 76-71 victory.
The two teams had taken distinctly different paths into this one through their first five games; the Cougars had faced little trouble dispatching their opponents, while the Eagles came into the game with three losses.
There were signs of trouble before the game even tipped off: Starting wing Noah Williams and reserve wing TJ Bamba each were unavailable because of injury.