GAME NOTES: In a Thanksgiving nightcap, the Washington State Cougars do battle with the Gauchos of UC Santa Barbara as part of the Great Alaska Shootout.

Washington State is making the trip for this three-day tournament with a 1-2 overall record in tow. The Cougars earned their first win of the season last Friday, taking an 80-68 decision at home against Idaho State. They had fallen to Texas-El Paso (65-52) and TCU (81-54) in consecutive road tests to start the campaign.

UCSB is in a similar position as Washington State, entering the holiday weekend with a record of 1-2 and coming off its first win of the season. That triumph didn't come against the toughest of foes, as the Gauchos routed The Master's College, 91-45, in their home debut. Losses at Kansas (69-56) and Florida Gulf Coast (81-75 OT) came before.

The winner of this contest will not only pull ahead in the all-time series, which is currently tied at one win apiece, but it will advance to face the victor between Rice and Mercer in the next round. The losers of each game will square off as well.

Surprisingly enough, Washington State was outscored by a wide margin in the paint against Idaho State (40-22). However, the Cougars dominated the glass (42-29). They also made only 40 percent of their shots from the floor, compared to a 48.2 percent effort from the Bengals. However, an 18-4 scoring edge off of turnovers proved to be a major deciding factor. Josh Hawkinson and DaVonte Lacy had tremendous games against ISU, with Hawkinson finishing with 26 points and 15 rebounds, and Lacy netting 25 points.

The 80 points the Cougars scored against the Bengals was an absolute eruption by their standards. They scored no more than 54 points in each of their first two games, and they were the worst scoring team in the Pac-12 last season at just 62.4 points per game. Lacy (17.3 ppg) has been scoring well, despite making only 35.1 percent of his total shots. Hawkinson (15.3 ppg, 12 rpg, 2.7 bpg) is the other double-digit scorer on the roster. He has had a double- double in each of the last two games following a seven-point, eight-rebound effort in the season opener.

UCSB was able to do anything it wanted against The Master's College. The Gauchos drained 52.3 percent of their field goal attempts, including a 10- of-22 effort from 3-point range. They also enjoyed a 40-29 edge on the boards, forced 27 turnovers, which turned into 39 points, and finished with a 24-8 advantage in second-chance points. Michael Bryson was really on his game, nailing 5-of-8 shots from the field to net a team-high 20 points.

As a team, UCSB has been a much more potent offensive group than Washington State. The Gauchos are averaging an even 75 points per game, while falling just below 45 percent in terms of shooting efficiency. Alan Williams (21 ppg, 12.3 rpg, 3 apg, 2.3 bpg) does everything for the team, leading the way in scoring, rebounding, assists and blocked shots. Bryson (13.3 ppg) and John Green (13.3 ppg) each lend a hand at the offensive end, with Green doing so as a reserve.

Hawkinson will have his hands full against Williams, who has played well regardless of the opponent. The Gauchos may be from a smaller conference than the Cougars, but that doesn't mean they will fall short in this one.