Franks leads Washington St. to 80-52 win over Delaware St.

Updated: Nov 25, 2018, 06:45 am

PULLMAN, Wash. -- Robert Franks scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as Washington State beat Delaware State 80-52 Saturday night.

Ahmed Ali added 17 points. Viont'e Daniels hit 3 of 6 from 3-point range and finished with 11 points for WSU (3-1).

"I felt like in the beginning we wasn't together, we wasn't focused," said Ali. "We got our rhythm together, got everyone comfortable and moving the ball, playing as a team in the second half."

Jonathan Mitchell scored 18 points with six rebounds for Delaware State (1-5).

The Hornets, who have just two wins over D-I opponents since the start of last season, led for most of the first half and trailed by just five at the break.

"Too much one-on-one basketball," said WSU coach Ernie Kent.

Marvin Cannon hit a 3-pointer to close the first half and spark a 10-0 run that spanned the break. Ali hit a 3 to open the second half before CJ Elleby and Franks made back-to-back layups to make it 42-30 and the Cougars led by double figures the rest of the way.

"Coach Kent put a fire under us and it was much needed," said Franks.

Daniels hit two 3-pointers in a 55-second span and Ali added another that capped a 15-3 spurt and gave WSU a 22-point lead with 12:40 to play. Franks' layup with 3:49 gave the Cougars a 76-44 lead.

Delaware State committed nine of its 11 turnovers in the second half.

"Our goal in the game was to keep them under 60 and we were able to accomplish that," said coach Kent.

KEY STATS

Delaware State shot the ball 75 times in the game and only scored 52 points. The Hornets weren't much better from 3-point range going 7 of 30 from behind the arc.

INJURIES

The Cougars played without junior Isaiah Wade. Wade is WSU's second-leading scorer in the early part of the season at 13.0 points per game.

BIG PICTURE

Washington State: After blowing out Delaware State, WSU is now on a two-game win streak. The opponents have been weak regarding record, but any win is huge for the young Cougar core. WSU will finish up their three-game home stretch when they face off against Cal State Northridge.

Delaware State: The Hornets are off to a terrible start after losing their fifth game of the young season. Their only win of the season is against the College of St. Elizabeth and will face a Penn team that has the same number of wins as Delaware State has losses. Things are not looking good for the Hornets who are in desperate need of a meaningful win.

UP NEXT

Delaware State plays Penn on Tuesday.

Washington State hosts Cal State Northridge on Tuesday.