GAME NOTES: The San Jose State Spartans shoot for their first win of the season over a Division I foe, as they clash with the Washington State Cougars in non-conference action at Beasley Coliseum on Sunday.

The Spartans, who opened the 2014-15 campaign with a victory over Bethesda, have won only once since, taking out St. Katherine by a score of 74-63 a little less than two weeks ago. The team is still waiting for that elusive first victory versus a D-I opponent, with the Mountain West Conference schedule set to begin at the end of the month.

Back on Dec. 13, the program had an awful offensive showing against Seattle University, coming up quite small at home in a 54-38 final.

As for the Cougars, a team which is winless in four true road games thus far, they are two games under .500 at the moment after losing two in a row and three of the last four. Eight days ago, WSU was taken out by Santa Clara in California by a score of 76-67.

Washington State leads the all-time series by a count of 7-2, winning four in a row after dropping back-to-back meetings more than two decades ago. The latest clash took place in 2002 as WSU posted a 76-68 victory at home.

The slumping offense for the Spartans sputtered yet again during their meeting with Seattle at The Event Center last weekend, converting only seven field goals in the first half and one fewer after the break, en route to the woeful outcome. Darryl Gaynor II managed to come up with a game-high 20 points, shooting 6-of-13 behind the 3-point line, but no one else on the roster managed to make more than a pair of buckets for a unit that shot 28.9 percent from the floor and was crushed on the glass, 40-19.

The effort by Gaynor was completely out of character for a player averaging only 5.8 ppg, but someone had to step up for a team that is generating a mere 57.5 ppg. Rashad Muhammad was responsible for a club-best 12.1 ppg, but he and four of his teammates have been suspended as of last week, making it that much more difficult for the program to even be relatively competitive. Add to that list three others who are out indefinitely due to injury and the Spartans are running on fumes.

Josh Hawkinson had a huge game for the Cougars during their stop at the Leavey Center, as he tallied 16 points and pulled down 16 rebounds in the nine-point loss. Ike Iroegbu knocked down 7-of-9 shots from the floor as he registered a team-best 18 points, but it still wasn't enough to keep the Cougars out of the loss column yet again. Washington State easily won the rebounding battle, 39-22, limiting the hosts to four offensive rebounds, but that didn't help as the Cougars managed to make good on just 4-of-18 shots behind the 3-point line.

Hawkinson is currently second on the team in scoring, averaging 14.5 ppg, but in addition to that he is also the leader on the glass with 10.2 rpg as well. DaVonte' Lacy is responsible for a team-best 17.1 ppg, although his 38.0 percent shooting from the floor is something that needs to be addressed. As a unit, Washington State is converting shots at a 41.9 percent clip and is only 33.2 percent accurate out on the perimeter,

With so many missing pieces on a roster that was already struggling, there's little chance of the Spartans being competitive long after intermission in this meeting.