PULLMAN — Derrien King scored 22 points and Washington State held on to beat Montana State 69-65 in the season opener Friday night.
Tyler Hall led the Bobcats with 32 points. The sophomore guard was an impressive 7 for 15 from the three-point line and a perfect 5 for 5 from the foul line.
Josh Hawkins, who had 16 points and 13 rebounds, made a pair of free throws with 5:45 to play to put the Cougars up by 14. But behind the shooting efforts of Hall, the Bobcats closed to within 3 points 68-65 with 14 seconds to play on a deep three pointer by Hall.