GAME NOTES: The Washington State Cougars aim for their first win in the Ernie Kent era when they battle the Idaho State Bengals in non-conference action from Beasley Coliseum on Friday night.

The Cougars, who will play their home opener, began the season with a pair of defeats in the Lone Star State, falling to both Texas-El Paso (65-52) and TCU (81-54).

Idaho State, which also has yet to play at home, has lost both of its contests in the early going. The Bengals have suffered blowout losses to New Mexico (79-55) and Denver (54-38).

Washington State has won six of the seven all-time meetings with Idaho State, with the most recent encounter resulting in a 35-point triumph for the Cougars on Dec. 29, 2012.

Idaho State's offense has struggled in the first two games of the season. Last Sunday, Chris Hansen scored a game-high 15 points for Idaho State in its 54-48 defeat to Denver. Hansen added three steals. Jeffrey Solarin pulled down 14 rebounds in the loss for the Bengals.

Solarin was one of the best rebounders in the Big Sky Conference last season as he averaged 8.5 per game. In the first two games this season, he is averaging 10 rebounds per game after grabbing 14 at Denver. Aside from that bright spot, the start of this season has been bleak for the Bengals. They shot 33.9 percent at New Mexico and 35.9 percent at Denver. Struggling on the road is nothing new for Idaho State. In the last nine years, the most road games Idaho State has won in a season is five in 2005-06. Additionally, the Bengals are 4-59 in non-conference road/neutral-site games over the last six years.

The Cougars haven't been much better this season, with their two losses coming by a combined 40 points. In Monday's 81-54 loss to TCU, the Cougars were paced by Josh Hawkinson who registered a double-double with 14 points and a game- high 13 boards, while Davonte Lacy tacked on 11 points on just 3-of-10 shooting from the floor. Lacy led the team with 19.4 points per game a season ago.

As far as Friday's game goes, this being Washington State's home opener, the Cougars have a great track record in home lid-lifters over the years. The Cougars have won 24 straight in that regard, with their last loss coming to BYU, 60-53, Dec. 3, 1987. After this game, the Cougars will head north for three contests in the Great Alaska Shootout.

The Bengals have an uphill battle in this contest. Idaho State has lost 21 straight games against teams from the Pac-12 Conference. The last time the Bengals beat a Pac-12 foe was a 62-57 win at Oregon during the 1986-87 season.